Wilting Point

Durational performance and exhibition of new works, at LA Art Show Presented by Ace Gallery, Beverly Hills. 2016

In this durational performance, British artist Millie Brown situates Wilting Point within the charged, transient environment of the 2016 LA Art Show, inserting a moment of quiet introspection into the commercial bustle of the fair. Over five consecutive days, Brown remains motionless atop a bed of freshly cut flowers, her presence a still point amid the vibrant flow of the exhibition. The natural cycle of the blooms, slowly wilting and decaying beneath her, forms a poetic counterpoint to the ephemerality and spectacle of the art fair context.

The performance engages a dialogue between vulnerability and endurance, as Brown’s sustained stillness and minimal sustenance heighten the corporeal intensity of the work. Her silence and physical immobility emphasize an embodied meditation on impermanence, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship to time, life, and decay amid a setting often defined by commerce and rapid consumption.

By bringing Wilting Point into the art fair space, Brown reframes the environment as a site of ecological reflection and poetic resistance. Visitors are invited to witness and participate in a subtle transformation — not only of the flowers but also of their own perceptions, as the fragile boundary between the human body and natural processes unfolds quietly within a context usually marked by noise and movement. The work stands as a profound gesture toward interconnectedness, renewal, and the delicate rhythms of life.

Link to film: https://www.ebstudios.org/millie-brown-wilting-point