Bay of Plenty artist Terry Fergusson with his Marilyn Monroe piece, selected for PassepARTout Unconventional Gallery's "100 Ways to Say Marilyn" exhibition.
Bay of Plenty artist Terry Fergusson with his Marilyn Monroe piece, selected for PassepARTout Unconventional Gallery's "100 Ways to Say Marilyn" exhibition.
Bay of Plenty artist Terry Fergusson thought the Instagram message from an Italian talent scout was spam.
But it was a legitimate invitation to display his artwork with Milan’s PassepARTout Unconventional Gallery 100 Ways to Say Marilyn exhibition.
The exhibition celebrates 100 years since the Hollywood icon’s birth, andartists’ reinterpretations of Marilyn Monroe, will feature from May 20 to June 7 at UNA Hotels Expo Fiera Milano.
Fergusson, who creates under the name The Bushman’s Son, said he loved painting iconic figures.
The painting was originally titled The Cost of Hollywood Glamour.
“It makes her look like she’s almost bleeding.”
Fergusson said that direction “just sort of happened”.
Anyone who attended art school would probably “clutch their pearls” and take a “deep breath” hearing his process. Fergusson preferred to let his art “evolve” naturally.
Bay of Plenty artist Terry Fergusson with his Marilyn Monroe piece, selected for PassepARTout Unconventional Gallery's 100 Ways to Say Marilyn exhibition.
There was always “a danger of overworking” a painting, not knowing when to stop.
He took the Monroe piece out of the house to avoid this. It now hangs at Rain Bar and Kitchen in Pāpāmoa, where he is based.
Fergusson said a high-resolution video version would be displayed at the exhibition.
Getting the artwork to Milan would have cost “a lot”, he said.
“As a Kiwi artist, we’re at the bottom of the world ... the insurance itself would have killed me.”
The virtual option meant artists could still be involved internationally.
His artwork and biography would also feature in the official exhibition programme - a full page dedicated to each artist.
Fergusson said it was a great opportunity to receive feedback and expose his work to wider audiences.
Fergusson was a 2016 finalist in the Adam Portraiture Award and won the People’s Choice Award. In 2021, he was a finalist in the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award.
He used to live in Rotorua and launched the Bushman’s Son Fund, managed by the Geyser Community Foundation, in 2017 to support emerging artists in the district.
He “can’t wait” to see how other artists have interpreted Monroe for the exhibition.
Ferrari said her selection process focused on artists who could bring a personal interpretation to Monroe through their style, offering “a vision of Marilyn that goes beyond her status as a diva”.
“My goal was to let the artist’s personal perspective bring out Marilyn’s human side: her strength, her simplicity, and that extraordinary ability to still speak to us today as a woman who faced immense hostility and overcame the adversities life presented her from a very young age.
“Marilyn’s story is one of success, resilience, and pure willpower,” Ferrari said.
All participating artists will be announced on May 16.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.
