All the secrets are buried between the oceans and the mountains, is the first solo exhibition by acclaimed Western Australian artist Stormie Mills to be held at an Australian state gallery.

A defining figure in Australian street art, Mills has spent four decades shaping the visual language of contemporary urban culture. This landmark exhibition presents a new body of work reflecting his global movements, personal history, and the encounters that have informed his distinctive practice since he first began painting in 1984.

Through his sustained practice, Mills has played a pivotal role in advancing street art as a recognised contemporary art form, helping shift public perception from underground graffiti to a respected and influential movement. His works, rendered in a restrained palette of black, white, grey and silver, explore themes of isolation, tenderness, resilience and the human condition. Their quiet vulnerability and hope have resonated with audiences across cultures and continents.

All the secrets are buried between the oceans and the mountains brings together a significant body of new and recent works that reflect Mills’ desire to connect intimately with others through painting, through storytelling, and through shared emotional experience.

The exhibition features two monumental 12 metre long paintings, one referencing the ocean and the other the mountains. These vast landscapes place Mills’ subjects in dialogue with elemental, often extreme environments, highlighting the tension between vulnerability and endurance.

Expansive scenes of turbulent seas, towering peaks and void-like spaces reference places Mills has travelled through, while also echoing the duality of his lived experience. Mills’ early life was marked by instability. Painting gave Mills a point of continuity, a steadying presence within an unpredictable world. These formative years underpin the emotional honesty and rawness that define his practice.

Image - Stormie Mills. Image courtesy of the artist. © Stormie Mills. Photo: Frances Andrijich.