Derek Jarman: The Black Paintings: A Chronology. Part I 1984 - 1987 | Amanda Wilkinson
I arrived at the gallery for this exhibition one sweaty lunchtime. Inside, a bored posh child and her father were on their way out. “That wasn’t too long, was it?” he asked her, hopefully. “That was 10 hours,” she replied.
Silly him for bringing her! I can’t think of a less child-friendly artist than Derek Jarman, who died of AIDS in 1994 and made much of his work in the dark shadow of his diagnosis. These include many of the tiny, hostile, withholding Black Paintings, which this show centres on. I’d seen and loved Amanda Wilkinson’s previous Jarman exhibition in 2023 (and wrote about it); she’ll host a follow-up exhibition of some of his final works, later this summer.
Thee Thou (1986)
The paintings on show crackle with bad psychic energy. Speaking to the Guardian, Wilkinson said that “sometimes [Jarman] used to cast spells over them. I don’t know whether that’s true or not”.
I personally believe it. Embedded in the oil slick like paint are various pieces of detritus: crushed fizzy drinks cans, mirrors, lightbulbs, rusty tools. The thing they have in common is their sharp edges - their brokenness - their potential for harm.
Esse in Anima (1987)
On my second quick tour around the works, I noticed the occasional livid red undertow in the black waves of paint. Like blood.
The monotone misery of the work on show meant I didn’t stay much longer than that. Although, when walking back down the stairs and into the sunshine, and the spell broke, it seemed like I had been up there for 10 hours.
Derek Jarman: The Black Paintings: A Chronology. Part I 1984 - 1987 is at Amanda Wilkinson (London). 06 June - 11 July 2025