Russ Mill's Signal Gallery Exhibition

Russ Mills' work is striking, to say the least. The drab colours- grey, red, black and white invoke an urban setting and upon closer inspection of the figures that he paints, their branded footwear and baggy clothing confirm that his subjects are all city living young people. It isn't until I reflected on the exhibition after leaving the gallery that I worked out what his work reminds me of- a book I had when I was younger about squashed fairies. The book suggested that just like collecting flowers you could collect fairies and press them- all of them were pressed into expressions of surprise and cheeky delight. These characters are the bright young things of London's urban environment, also pressed upon the canvas in mid pose. My favourite was that of a girl who looked like she was dancing before being captured in digital and then transformed into an acrylic centrepiece.

While there isn't much to distinguish Mills' pieces other than the captured people themselves, the distinction comes in the detail, which can only be seen in person and up close. Each portrait conveys its own sense of city living through the eyes of its squashed fairy subjects.