Florence street artist Stormie Mills' lost giant damaged

In Florence, The lost Giant mural in a boat with the colors of the Florence Rowing Clubs created by Australian street artist Stormie Mills on a wall in Via Villamagna, in District 3, was damaged a few days ago. The building also houses the Rossini Philharmonic.

“Art has always been an instrument of civilization and of opening people’s consciences and minds,” commented Jacopo Celona, general director of Florence Biennale, which four years ago had promoted the creation of the work. "With this spirit the Florence Biennale, since its foundation, has promoted the widest dissemination of arts and culture even in urban suburbs and in particular in places of aggregation. Not only that, several urban art projects have been born over the years,“ he continues. ”In 2017 the first female street artist from Afghanistan, Shamsia Hassani, was hosted with a mural (the only one in Italy) that was placed on the perimeter wall of the Leonardo da Vinci Technical Institute in Florence. 2018 saw the arrival in town of Australian artist Stormie Mills, whose works focus precisely on the lonely nature of the suburbs that in many cities around the world are home to his Lost Giants in Search of a Home. His works tap into a deep sense of isolation and yet each character seems to carry a message of hope. Each Lost Giant tells a larger story; the work develops and is created by the artist in dialogue with the community that hosts it and becomes its janitor. This is why Mills’ work was not only an important artistic legacy to the city of Florence, but represented something to the community of District 3 to which it was donated.“ A youth gathering place, near the Kassel Primary School and in a building that also houses the Rossini Philharmonic, had been chosen as the home of this lost giant, who wore a jersey in the colors of the Florence Rowing Boys’ Club. ”It is not easy to understand what could have been the motive for such a gesture, so deplorable as to strike not only the artist and his work, but in particular an entire community and the values it expresses,“ Celona added. ”An action perpetrated gratuitously, apparently without explanation and above all that cannot be justified in any way. If anyone felt in any way affected by this work or the values it was intended to convey, they probably chose an absolutely uncivilized display of dissent, demonstrating that there is still much to be done to make our society and the people in it capable of sharing healthy values of tolerance and civility. We are deeply sorry, and as Florence Biennale we have already made ourselves available with the City of Florence and the institutions of District 3 to collaborate again, with the involvement of the artist Stormie Mills, starting from the very place that was the scene of this sad, as much as incomprehensible incident, with the aim of reaffirming the importance of respect and tolerance as foundational values for a sustainable future."

Upon learning the news, the artist, from Australia, also wished to comment, "When Florence Biennale contacted me to let me know what had happened at work at the rowing club, I was saddened. Not because of what was done to my work, the painting is only temporary, but because I had good memories of creating the work. In order to get the okay from the councilors of the City of Florence, I attended meetings in large buildings that I had never seen before, and when it came time to paint, the friendliness and welcome that the members of the rowing club gave me made me feel like I was doing something special for them. Over the years, people I know from all over the world have been to that rowing club to take pictures with that giant, sharing them with me: a part of the city that tourists would not normally visit, another connection between people and places created through art. These memories have been contaminated, but not forever, not for long, because if the overall situation allows it and the friends of Florence want it, by the end of the year I can return and the mural can be reborn: we can make this scar a better memory, one that can triumph over everything, thanks to an even greater awareness of the goals to be achieved."

Donata Meneghello, President of the Rossini Philharmonic commented,"The Lost Giant is an ageless, peaceful-looking guy on the little boat, with that half smile between resigned and dreamy. The mural of a famous international artist was paved over by unknown people with brutal roller passes. We had grown fond of that somewhat awkward figure painted on the long yellow wall, unwitting guardian of our square. A bitter surprise for everyone, musicians, sportsmen, boys from our venues, the children of Kassel Primary who glimpsed him from the gate in front. A gratuitous act of contempt: fury, censorship, envy, social resentment, or more simply as a result of an existential and cultural vacuum that is hard to die. We are there to counter it. In addition to the suburbs, we need to retrain cultures and imaginaries, increase civic consciousness. Even with music and sports it can be done."

Florence street artist Stormie Mills' lost giant damaged

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