Inverness Courier reporter becomes latest subject of mysterious street artist MicroMischief whose sticker art was inspired by a fear of personal loss as it celebrates ‘my childhood friend, partner in crime, my always love’
MicroMischief has been in touch with The Inverness Courier by mischievously posting a sticker of this reporter on the door to our offices, which was followed by an interview revealing their touching motivation behind the street art.
Not long after the report first appeared, an image of The Inverness Courier’s political reporter accepting an award appeared on our office door which we took as an indication that the mysterious street artist was willing to discuss their work.
The reporter, while publicly claiming to be more handsome in real life than depicted in the sticker, is privately understood to be extremely happy with representation due to the enhanced hairline.
The first thing MicroMischief wanted to clear up was that the street artist is definitely a she not a he as many people responding to the story have assumed – the second was to express real thanks for those who welcomed her sticker art.
We won’t mention the local businesses who have praised her work because technically it could be considered illegal to put them up but one summed it up: “I really like what you are doing and you put a smile on my face with your work”.
Another mural street artist going by the handle Noodle.1111 responded, saying: “Yo just wanted to let you know these stickers are sooo sick! I love them so much. So deserved!! I love seeing your posts come up on my feed”.
The embrace of street art – as opposed to arbitrary, profane and empty-headed vandalism – is something that MicroMischief said she wants to see more of in Inverness.
Going by the reaction to her stickers so far – most seem to like them – perhaps there is a case to be made for street art in the north, particularly given Highland Council’s recent efforts at public art which proved costly and unpopular.
She pointed to Aberdeen as a possible cost-effective model where the city’s NuArt Festival has sparked enormous interest in large-scale street art that is now so popular people are led on guided tours.
So was that her motivation in creating and posting her stickers? No, was the answer, in fact her motivation was much more affecting than you would guess from the humorous, even joyful stickers.
MicroMischief said that recently she has had to reckon with “the thought of living my life someday without my childhood friend, partner in crime, my always love, the one who sees part of my crazy brain and understands it like no one else.”
She discussed how this came about but preferred to keep this part of our exchange off the record but revealed that as she struggled to come to terms with a sudden change she turned to art.
That is when she created her first sticker: “As soon as I printed my first MicroMischief, dangling off a cliff edge, we couldn't stop laughing, or coming up with ideas. It gave me an escape, but one that also helped me face reality.”
It is perhaps telling that it was of a man holding on by his fingertips, the other stickers all refer to entirely personal moments: “Behind almost all the MicroMischiefs I put up, there's another story that's just us in our bubble, that no one else can really know.
“Where we were, why we had to focus on stickers that day, the conversations and little jokes born from that trip, all of our late night laughs as we come up with more ideas”.
So what really stands behind the stickers is a shared moment between two people who love one another and an effort not just to capture those fleeting moments but also to celebrate them too.
“I've learned to create for the sake of momentary joy,” she said. “To take risks that I can laugh about forever, and to snap photos so I can relive those little memories long after the sticker has faded to nothing.
“Sticker art taught me a lesson I didn't even know it was teaching me. When I put a sticker up, I hope it will last but I don't expect it. Sometimes it's because the placement isn't good, other times because someone takes it down on purpose or it fades from the sun shining on it too long.
“I never expect to see them again but it makes me so happy when I walk past a place that has clearly chosen to keep my sticker up. I know someone else is enjoying it too. I soak it in for a moment, cause it might be gone the next time.”
There was only one small question that only occurred afterwards, MicroMischief said: “I'd never made a sticker before, I could barely even draw, but as we stuck up his stickers on our walks, it was inevitable that I'd get involved…”
Whose stickers and where are they - is there more than one MicroMischief?
