There are few more complete examples of an artist’s record of their own life than the intimately detailed and beautifully produced handmade books that Derek Jarman created throughout his career. Seen together they reveal the story of how he gathered, shaped and made concrete his ideas. Containing poetry, drawings, pressed flowers, photographs, excerpts from scripts and notes, the sketchbooks are part autobiography and part social history, layered and bursting with the energy and creativity not only of this groundbreaking film-maker and artist, but also of London in the 1970s and 80s. Wholly private during his lifetime, these precious books are an intimate pictorial record of the relationship between Jarmans personal and professional life, revealing the detailed planning and research, and creative and emotional engagement, behind each of his films.
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