The Angelus Prayers for the poor departed

An xray revealed that the casket of a small child (anguish hidden in the painting) was removed to make the painting more saleable

Jean Francois MiIlet 1933

I went to photograph the work of a friend who is a skilled waxwork maker. What confronted me was to say the least surprising.

The studio was littered with the immediately recognisable bits and pieces of Marilyn Monroe. Her head rested patiently on a plaster encrusted bench uncannily like her. The maker had even obtained her dental records and reproduced her teeth as in life.

Her scalp was covered in real hair styled as it was in the famous image and eyes that followed you around. Hanging to one side the equally famous dress.

Standing next to it was her naked body minus arms and one leg which were propped against a ladder.  all waiting to miraculously come together to be dressed ready for dispatch to the Hollywood Museum. I was sure that what lay 

before me would interest Sarah and arranged for her to visit the studio and film the final stages of Marilyn’s departure.

In her film Sarah has employed the same forensic exploration of Marilyn’s

glamorous and turbulent life echoing the same attention to detail in unravelling her multi faceted personality. The film also considers Marilyn’s search for her own creative needs as expressed in her relationships with some of the times most famous men. All of which is reflected in the way the film is structured not simply as a biographical documentary but reflects the makers own creative imagination in its kaleidoscopic interpretation

John Miles 2023

What remains of the dark room 2021