Stuart Comer & James Mackay talk about The Early Films of Derek Jarman + news on Nicky Carvell, Florian Roithmayr, Kit Craig, & Alice Channer

Derek Jarman 'A journey To Avebury' 1971 Super 8 Film

CHELSEA space and the CCW Graduate School hosted an excellent talk by Tate Modern Curator of Film  Stuart Comer and film producer James Mackay on the Early Films of Derek Jarman (1942-1994).

James Mackay and Stuart Comer talking Derek Jarman in the Lecture Theatre at Chelsea College of Art & Design

The discussion will be published as part of a series of ‘in conversations’ for the Moving Image Review and Art Journal (MIRAJ) edited by Catherine Elwes and published by Intellect Books. The event included a screening of several films including Studio Bankside 1970; A Journey To Avebury 1971;  Sulphur 1973; Art and the Pose 1976; Sloane Street: A Room of One’s Own 1976; T.G: Psychic Rally In Heaven 1981. Because of the delicate state of the super 8 films it has not been possible to view them much in recent years but James Mackay and the Luma Foundation have been lovingly restoring the films frame by frame and digitizing them.

Derek Jarman 'Sloane Square: A Room Of One's Own' 1976 super 8 film

Super 8 was admired for its portable handheld qualities but it could not be projected to a very large scale, and the heat from the projectors often scorched the film. Derek Jarman enjoyed seeing his work on a large scale and James Mackay believes that these new digital versions will enable the audience for the first time to really see what Jarman saw through the viewfinder. An interesting fragmented portrait of Derek Jarman began to emerge from the biographical, theoretical, practical, political, and contextual commentary, James’s anecdotes and insights, and the films themselves. CHELSEA space is grateful to James Mackay and Stuart Comer for such a candid, intelligent, and  generous discussion.  We quickly ran out of time – there is so much more to be said.

Duggie fields and Steve Thomas at the Lloyd Johnson opening in CHELSEA space in 2012. Derek Jarman made a super 8 film portrait entitled Duggie Fields in 1974

The Lecture Theatre was full with a combination of artists, film experts and academics, fans, friends of Jarman, and students. It was great to see artist/designer Steve Thomas who showed with us in Big Biba and Other Stories and Ideal Home and who recently showed prints with Brad Faine at our sister gallery, Chelsea Futurespace. Steve, who studied at Chelsea School of Art in the early 1960s, knew many of Derek Jarman’s friends on the London creative scene  of the 1960s and 70s and recognised several of his old friends and acquaintances in Jarman’s films Studio Bankside  1970 and Sloane Square: A Room Of One’s Own 1976.

Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, Kent with John Donne's poem The Sun Rising originally installed by Peter Fillingham and later restored by Charlotte Moth

It was great too to see Peter Fillingham who also showed in Ideal Home at CHELSEA space. Peter was a close friend of Derek Jarman and was the person responsible for the John Donne poem The Sun Rising installed on the side of Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, in Dungeness. Peter worked with Jarman on many projects during his lifetime and was also in his film Wittgenstein. In 1999 Peter Fillingham made  an installation in response to Jarman’s film Blue with Keith Collins for the exhibition Stimuli  at the Witte de With in Rotterdam. The photographs of Derek Jarman’s notebook shown in the 1999  installation were taken by CHELSEA space Director of Exhibitions, Donald Smith, and the Director of the Witte de With at the time was Chris Dercon, now Director of Tate Modern.

Nicky Carvell with her customised Egg

Also in the audience for James Mackay and Stuart Comer’s talk and screening was Nicky Carvell who showed with us in Red White and Blue: Pop Punk Politics Place an exhibition that co-incidently featured Derek Jarman’s super 8 film Jordan’s Dance 1977. Nicky was recently invited to customise a large ‘egg’ for the artists’ project The Big Egg Hunt in aid of Action For Children. The artist customised eggs which also include contributions from Graham Hudson and Peter Liversidge amongst 100 others, are going on tour around the country:London Covent Garden, Tuesday 12th Feb – Sunday 17th February; Birmingham, Victoria Square, Tuesday 19th Feb – Monday 25th February, Liverpool, Paradise Street, Wednesday 27th February – Tuesday 5th March, Manchester Exchange square, Thursday 7th March – Wednesday 13th March, Glasgow, St Enoch Square, Friday 15th March – Wednesday 20th March, London Covent Garden Friday 22nd March – Monday 1st April.

Florian Roithmayr 'Grotto' Laure Genillard Gallery

Meanwhile Florian Roithmayr, who showed at CHELSEA space  in Ice Trade  in 2007, is showing in Burg at Laure Genillard Gallery. 

Florian Roithmayr 'Moat-Study'

Burg is curated by Hana Noorali and Lynton Talbot who, under their curatorial name of RUN, curated Should I Stay Or Should I Go at CHELSEA space with Elena Crippa in 2010. Laure Genillard who is hosting the Burg exhibition curated Aftermath at CHELSEA space in 2011.

Kit Craig

Kit Craig, who showed at CHELSEA space in With Words Like Smoke, is showing from 5th March to 5th May at Michael Hall’s Parfitt Gallery in Croydon. Kit is represented by Arcade run by the excellent Christian Mooney.

A dancer in front of Alice Channer's work for 'December 1952' directed by Cally Spooner at CHELSEA space in 2009

Finally, Alice Channer, who showed at CHELSEA space as part of Cally Spooner’s December 1952, is currently exhibiting until the 12th May at The Hepworth Wakefield.

The Hepworth Wakefield by David Chipperfield Architects. photo Donald Smith

The Hepworth, set in its award winning building by David Chipperfield, is well worth the visit and Wakefield is only half an hour from Leeds so you can also visit the Henry Moore Institute with its excellent exhibitions programme and superb archive.

The Hepworth Wakefield