A compelling new exhibition curated by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien explores the life and work of his friend independent filmmaker Derek Jarman. Conceived as a multimedia environment rather than a conventional retrospective, Julien’s curatorial endeavor deploys a thoughtful arrangement of Jarman’s films, collages, and paintings, as well as Julien’s own pieces inspired by Jarman, to create a multifaceted portrait of the artist and his practice.
With its strong emphasis on Jarman’s little-known two-dimensional work, the show highlights the close links between film, painting, music, poetry, and literature in his oeuvre. Rarely seen collages and wall sculptures, for example, are juxtaposed with screenings of Jarman’s early Super-8 shorts, as well as with his final film, Blue, 1993. In this context, the objects on display—small gothic reliefs using text from Romantic poems and prayers covered with tar, and three large-scale wall-hung sculptures of tarred-and-feathered beds to which have been affixed photographs from gay porn and pages from Plato’s Symposium—become theatrical movie props. The sound track, which alternates between contemplative church music and loud dance tracks (including the Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin”), heightens the dramatic content of these confessional memento mori, alluding to Jarman’s homosexuality, HIV, and eventual death.
Julien’s documentary Derek, 2008, narrated by actress Tilda Swinton and also included here, is an accomplished homage to Jarman. It provides background information about his artistic life and gives a fascinating insight into the political and cultural climate that shaped his oeuvre without drawing attention away from the importance of his artworks in their own right. Julien’s photographic light boxes featuring almost-ethereal interior shots of Jarman’s Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, England, characterized by chiaroscuro, silently blend into the exhibition. They function as moments of rest, evoking Jarman’s latter-day identity as a gardener and poet. Especially striking is the juxtaposition of a large-scale photograph of Prospect Cottage, its window frames painted bright yellow, and a close-up of yellow blossoms, echoing Jarman’s interest in color and the visual poetry of the monochromatic Blue.
