Curated by the celebrated artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, the Derek Jarman exhibition presents a selection of work by the leading British film-maker of his generation; it highlights Jarman’s work in film and painting, including his pioneering presentation of the moving image within the gallery context.
Jarman was arguably the single most crucial figure of British independent cinema in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. He struggled for Gay Liberation and with the impact of AIDS and lived as a participant observer, recording all that passed before him, from punk to Thatcher, Hampstead Heath to film premiere.
This exhibition is a timely reappraisal of Jarman’s work, conceived as an immersive environment by Julien, featuring rarely seen films from the Derek Jarman Super-8 archive, an installation of his film Blue, 1993, as well as a selection of his paintings.
Julien has also created a series of photographic lightboxes documenting Jarman’s cottage and garden in Dungeness.
The exhibition will mark the premiere of Julien’s new film about Jarman, Derek, the centre of which is a day-long interview Jarman recorded.
Derek Jarman Curated by Isaac Julien
23 February – 13 April 2008
Performance For Blue
Friday 14 March
7 pm
by Simon Fisher Turner
with Black Sifichi
For Blue is a new reworking of the film’s music and sound with narration by poet and musician Black Sifichi presented live in the Serpentine Gallery.
http://www.serpentinegallery.org/
