The British Council New Zealand and the Pacific is proud to support a new exhibition which celebrates the work, activism and legacy of UK artist Derek Jarman, while also highlighting his connection to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days will be presented at The Dowse Art Museum in partnership with City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi from 28 September 2024 to 26 January 2025. City Gallery Wellington Senior Curator Aaron Lister says Derek Jarman (1942-1994) is one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth century British culture. “He was an early campaigner for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and people living with HIV and AIDs. Jarman courageously put that battle and his own experience at the centre of his work to challenge normative culture and reigning neoliberal politics of his time.”
“Jarman connects to Aotearoa through his father Lancelot who was born in Canterbury in 1907. Though he never set foot in Aotearoa following his father’s return to Britain, Jarman’s familial and imaginative connection to this country is present in his writing and contributed to his love/hate relationship with a modern Britain under conservative political leadership.”
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days marks 30 years since the artist passed away from an AIDS-related illness at the age of 52.
The exhibition has been co-developed by Gus Fisher Gallery and City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. It is co-curated by Lisa Beauchamp, Curator of Contemporary Art at Gus Fisher Gallery, City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi Senior Curator Aaron Lister, and Michael Lett. It is showing at Gus Fisher Gallery from 15 June to 14 September 2024.
In Wellington, an accompanying screening programme, delivered in partnership with the Wellington Film Society, will show Jarman’s feature films. These screenings are part of an expanded public programme that will be staged across Wellington city and the Dowse which seek to connect Jarman’s work and legacy to Aotearoa New Zealand. This public programme has been supported by the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific.
Country Director British Council New Zealand and the Pacific Natasha Beckman says the British Council is thrilled to support the public programme for Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days.
“Bringing the work of Jarman from the UK to Aotearoa New Zealand, it draws out resonances and connections between the two countries - his art and activism was bold, confrontational, and, above all, courageous. This exhibition and public programme will celebrate the power of Jarman’s work to speak so powerfully both in and about its own times, and also to the here and now of contemporary Aotearoa.”
An accompanying exhibition, Beautiful Flowers and How to Grow Them, featuring experimental portraits in film and photography made by Ōtautahi Christchurch artist Paul Johns between 1975 and 1980, will be shown alongside the Jarman exhibition at the Dowse.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days has been funded with the lead support of Tony Kerridge and Micheal Do, with additional support of City Gallery Wellington Foundation, the Delphinium Days Exhibition Circle and the British Council. With thanks to the Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London.
See more details here where further updates to the public programme will be added.
Pictured above: Derek Jarman, Blue, 1993, courtesy Basilisk Communications