Artist and activist Derek Jarman (1942-1994) is one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth century British culture. As an early campaigner for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and people living with HIV and AIDS, he created art that sought to challenge the normative culture and reigning neoliberal politics of his (and our) times.
We are delighted to be screening two films associated with the exhibition Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days, which is presented at The Dowse Art Museum between 28 September 2024 and 26 January 2025.
The exhibition has been co-developed by Gus Fisher Gallery and City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. It is co-curated by Lisa Beauchamp, Curator of Contemporary Art at Gus Fisher Gallery, Aaron Lister, Senior Curator (Toi) at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, and Michael Lett.
We are screening The Devils, directed by Ken Russell, which marked Derek Jarman’s debut work on a feature film as production designer, and Edward II, directed by Jarman, a daring, queer, anachronistic adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s play 1594 play.
This is the second year in a row that we’ve collaborated with the team at City Gallery. Last year we built on the folk horror infused coincidence of City Gallery’s show Eerie Pageantry and our Halloween screening of the greatest folk horror of all time, The Wicker Man. Artist Julia Robinson introduced our screening of The Wicker Man and a special tour of the exhibition was made available for WFS members. This year, we’ll be joined by Aaron Lister, who will introduce our screening of Edward II on 30 September.
Aaron shared the following exploration of Jarman’s films with us:
“Derek Jarman made eleven feature films, widely divergent in the subject and treatment, but united in sensibility and the radical ways they tackled queer sexuality, history and politics. He said that film making is another form of painting and got his break by working as a set designer on Ken Russell’s The Devils.
Derek Jarman’s art works both with and fights against the possibilities of the gallery and the cinema, always seeking to draw something else out of the experience of making or seeing paintings and films. Let’s face it, he made some of the most painterly films you will ever see, and some of the most filmic paintings. And almost always, all of these were made with a range of actors, musicians and artists – always prioritising a collaborative way of working.”
We’re looking forward to seeing our members for two evenings of deeply personal and sometimes confronting cinema, and we hope you enjoy the exhibition!
