Marilyn’s Stars explores a foundational moment in Marilyn Monroe’s trajectory, at the dawn of her legend. Through two variations, White and Pink, Gregory BAÔO offers two sensitive readings of the same portrait, where material, light, and chromatic dimension shape distinct perceptions of a single presence.

 

In the White version, the artwork is rooted in a classical and majestic aesthetic. Visual purity, the restraint of the gaze, and the balance of light reinforce the iconic dimension of the portrait, echoing the spirit of great institutional and timeless portraits.

 

In the Pink version, color opens a more intimate resonance of the face. It subtly transforms the perception of the scene and introduces a sensitive tonality that invites an inner relationship with the figure, like a gentle, human, and silent presence.

 

In both variations, the “star dress,” enhanced with crystals, becomes a symbolic motif evoking radiance, ascent, and the promise of light. A quotation by Marilyn Monroe:

 

“We are all of us stars and we deserve to twinkle.”

 

This sentence is discreetly concealed within the artwork, like an intimate imprint that the viewer may discover over time.

 

These two interpretations enter into dialogue through time and through the gaze. They reveal the same figure through two distinct aesthetic sensibilities, between cinematic memory and contemporary creation.