Derek Jarman (1942-1994)

Trick

Derek Jarman is best known as the director of films such as Jubilee (1977), Caravaggio (1986) and the Last of England (1988). He originally trained at the Slade School of Art and continued painting throughout his life. Trick is an early abstract work made while a student at the Slade. His painting career took in minimalist landscapes, collage and found objects and the angry slogans of his final works.

Jarman was an outspoken gay rights activist and after being diagnosed as HIV positive in 1986 was determined to challenge homophobic perceptions of the disease. He was nominated for the Turner Prize the same year. Jarman was also an accomplished writer and stage designer. One of his last creative projects was the remarkable shingle garden at Prospect Cottage near Dungeness.

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