Overview
It seems strange that street art comes with a press release these days. Its creation was once banished to the darkest hours of the night to be carried out by wanted dudes in hoodies and runners; now it gets its own fanfare. Is it even still a crime? Regardless, it makes sense that this one was delivered to our inbox today. After being the star of zillions of Instagram posts in downtown LA, Colette Miller's Wings installation is coming to the streets of Melbourne and Sydney. Brace yourselves, this is sure to trend in no time.
Originally created in 2012, the now-famous installation was imagined as a way for people to start interacting with art in urban spaces. As it encouraged people to take photos with it, this multi-colour paste-up was a hit — an instant classic to the growing list of must-see artworks around the streets of LA. Since then, it's been brought to Washington, Nairobi and now Australia. It appears that the desire to be a giant neon angel is universal.
Melbournians and Sydneysiders can experience this strange privilege for a limited time this month. Flying over to Sydney first as part of Arts Brookfield, the wings will be plastered at World Square and King Street Wharf from September 5 'til October 9. At two metres high and three metres wide, they'll be hard to miss — not to mention the crowd of happy snappers that will invariably surround them.
The wings will be appearing in Melbourne from September 15 to October 15 at Southern Cross Lane near the corner of Bourke and Exhibition Streets. And, with such a central CBD location, the artist's point is pretty clear. "Cities bring humans together and Wings is accessible art that aims to capture the imagination of workers as they transverse the city," said Miller.
"My Wings are a universal archetypal symbol of humanity and its divine self."
While we think the latter point is reaching a little far, we wholeheartedly agree with the former. Everyone deserves some sprawling, neon art to admire on their lunch break and it's well worth taking the time for a selfie.