Fast-food chains and service stations aren’t obvious subjects for fine art, yet South Australian artist Hamish Fleming sees something worth capturing in their fluorescent glow. His new exhibition at The Mill, Nowhere Is Ever Really That Dark, reframes these mundane spaces as scenes of quiet intimacy.
Fleming paints from life, which means he’s often found on roadsides or braving freezing Adelaide Hills nights to work. This dedication once sparked an unusual post in Bridgewater’s community Facebook group.
“Someone posted about their sighting of ‘a phantom’ with an easel late at night in a specific location,” Fleming says. “It was sent my way by multiple people and it was confirmed that it was me they saw, but no, not a ghost sorry — still alive.”
The self-taught artist describes himself as someone driven by an obsessive pursuit of understanding. That extends beyond painting from life to making his own paints.
“That focus on understanding has to translate into the material, to develop a relationship with it, understanding it for what it is and taking on its various idiosyncrasies,” Fleming explains. “In a very unglamorous way, at the end of the day my work is the material, that is its literal physical composition, so I feel I should be part of it at this fundamental level.”
The exhibition features Hungry Jack’s outlets, bottle shops and petrol stations alongside nocturnal scenes, spaces of intimate solitude including his studio at The Mill, and backstreet roadsides. While the works aim to invoke solitude, they’ve found mass acclaim through Fleming’s social media presence. A post revealing his BP petrol station painting garnered over 676,000 views, leading to sold-out print runs.
“Through these works Hamish creates very intimate and evocative scenes, rendering the feeling of a place alongside its unique atmosphere,” says The Mill Visual Arts Curator Adele Sliuzas. “The works reject sterility and millennial greigification in favour of honouring gritty, intimate and everyday subject matter.”
If you go
Nowhere Is Ever Really That Dark
Thursday 16 October 2026 to Thursday 15 January 2027
Gallery I, The Mill, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm
Free entry
Exhibition Opening
Friday 16 October, 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Free
Artist Talk
Friday 13 November, 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Free
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