Image: Millie Dunstall, Shining Love, Dear, 2022. Lacquer, gel medium and PVA on canvas. 50 x 45cm. Courtesy: the artist and Jhana Millers Gallery.

Millie Dunstall gathers inspiration from pop culture, cartoons, graphic design and the urban environment, with a particular interest in graffiti and the aesthetics of early 90’s and 2000’s cartoons. Many of the characters in her works are nostalgic and relatable – the Kewpie Mayo baby, the Reluctant Dragon, the Green M&M, The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy.

As her interest in graffiti has grown it has changed the way she views public space – considering it with the intention of engaging, as opposed to passing through. Bringing an illegal expression such as graffiti into a fine arts context is an exciting conflict for Millie – an act pioneered by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, and Shepard Fairey.

Her works are at times grungy and ugly, at times candy coated or shined up in chrome. Millie enjoys working with spray paint, because of its reference to graffiti as well as its relationship to creating at speed, producing an energy in the work.

Millie is a recent fine arts graduate from Toi Rauwhārangi, Massey University College of Creative Arts and lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.