What Dreams May Come

by Gilli Marshall

Date: Jul 3 – Jul 16Space: Small Gallery

“My inspiration has been the movie What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams.

My artist models are Anselm Keifer for his paint technique and how he attached clothing etc to a base or canvas, Jackson Pollock for splash and dribble technique, and Frida Kahlo for her portraits.

My paintings recreate the fantasy of childhood to adult (Heaven and Hell), and the feelings of diving into a painting with paint dripping and cascading over the body which leads to the freedom to run through any painting of painted flowers and landscapes, to feel the euphoric freedom to be yourself in a landscape so diverse.

Allowing the colours to dribble into each other and exploding to create texture caused by the splattered paint allows the narrative to expose itself to the viewer.

The chaos these paintings create lead to extraordinary feelings, and it allows you the viewer to feel the drama in unique ways.

It allows you to breathe, move, and visualise the chaos of childhood and growing into an adult.

In essence, it became how I painted the background, applied the clothing, and created the narrative so that when you look at the image, it would have many different angles and levels to the final painting idea which you the viewer can interpret in your own way.”

Opening Night: Friday 3rd July 2026 – 5-7pm 

About the Artist:

Gilli Marshall is a sustainable and multi-media artist, art teacher, and designer of wearable fashion. She is based in Hawkes Bay Napier. Gilli is currently the Educational Arts Tutor at Hawkes Bay Regional Prison. She is known for her art education and creates narrative driven art, often exploring themes of sustainability, nature, diversity, and the human connection.

Gilli has competed in many art and Wearable Arts competitions and has participated in group and solo exhibitions. She loves exploring and investigating mediums in a technical way to establish how a product will work when establishing the narrative. As Kelcy Taratoa once said about Gilli, “Gilli is an exceptional practitioner, resourceful, highly skilled, fearless and prolific.”