Mica Stills first solo exhibition in five years brings her rainbows, animals and stories to the gallery walls of Endemic World, in Ponsonby, Auckland. Don’t be fooled by her absence from the fine art world, Mica has been busy honing her new skills spray painting in the street and expanding her drawing language.

Painting walls in street art festivals, exhibiting in group shows, curating exhibitions and fundraising for mental health initiatives and youth programs has become a body of work which is best described as Mica’s whimsical rainbow land. This show will give you a sense of hope, the same thread of hope that kept her going through chronic illness treatment and recovery. 

Mica finds inspiration in her plastic toy animals – ‘I was in a deep creative rut, so I started using my collection as a starting point to express how I was feeling at any given moment. The animals gave me hope that I could sustain my creative voice at a time that was difficult to find it.’ Her use of rainbows has also became an expression of her voice within the composition. Seven years ago Mica’s rainbows were descriptions of oh-la-la moments in her 1970’s erotica inspired series. She developed this concept further to use them as a detail that brings lightness to her work, a tool that connects elements of relationships and emotions as a clue to her world. 

Mica Still invites you to experience the her newest paintings and drawings in Hope Land, you’ll be inspired to ‘dream of rainbows and happy things’, something Mica says to her daughter every night before she goes to sleep. 

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Text by Antoinette Ratcliffe