Women in Water | Marilyn I

Hand-signed serigraph on handmade paper limited edition by James Francis Gill. 

Pop Art pioneer James Francis Gill explores femininity through the shifting, fluid lens of water in this markedly intimate and expressive series. Transcending mere representation, this artwork is a personal and poetic exploration of emotion, identity and the universal human connection with nature.

A reinterpretation of Lawrence Schiller’ 1936 portrait of Marilyn Monroe, Gill's adaptation thrives on its colour dramaturgy and atmospheric density as the warm, golden light on Monroe's skin contrasts with the cool, intense blue of the water.

The transitions between light and shadow on the skin are finely nuanced, the light reflections in the water masterfully set. Gill creates luminosity and transparency that lend the picture an almost supernatural effect.

Gill's Monroe is not an advertising figure, an icon of seduction nor a victiom of the media, but a human being - tangible, vulnerable and at the same time full of inner strength – a figure caught between splendour and fragility.

One of James Francis Gill’s most intimate and expressive series and part of a body of work dating back to the 1960s, Women in Water sees Gill present a series of female figures in a suspended, almost timeless state. Poised at the edge of movement, immersed in water, Gill captures the women between air and depth, hesitation and courage – each composition an encounter. These moments are charged with both physical vitality and emotional resonance. The leap into the water symbolizes transformation, rebirth, and the intensity of fleeting experiences. Gill distils this ephemeral feeling into a visual language that is at once personal, poetic, and universal.

“We humans love the sight of water. The glitter, the soft waves and the deep blue all trigger a feeling of peace and space within us.” – James Francis Gill

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