This piece was originally created as a possibility for my genesis release, after I was accepted to Known Origin.
I ended up putting it aside, then made other things which I also didn’t use; I finally settled on a completely new series of Marilyns, the Morph collection, for my debut.
Pop, trash and rock with Gothic touches thrown in, this one is a tribute more to contemporary Rockabilly culture than anything to do with Marilyn Monroe’s life per se.
She becomes a cipher for the reinvented 1950s aesthetics of greasers, wharfies, drapes and milk bar cowboys on steroids.
The ‘Marilyn Tattoo’ series, which was originally released in 8 colourways on OpenSea, is certainly nice to look at but a somewhat nebulous concept compared to the ‘Marilyn Morph’ collection, which was clear in its implications of physical and mental transformation.
I revisited the series late last year after being featured on KnownOrigin’s front page, releasing a cotton candy colourway.
This dark blue hyper-tattooed, nautical inspired version will likely be the final version in the series.