Brutal Beauty

This catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, London, 23 February – 13 April 2008. The exhibition presents a selection of work by the leading British filmmaker of his generation.

Curated by the celebrated artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, 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. 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.