Wellington Film Society and City Gallery Wellington are delighted to announce two special film screenings to celebrate our upcoming exhibition Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days.
Wellington Film Society will screen Ken Russell’s The Devils (1972) on Monday 16 September and Derek Jarman’s Edward II (1991) on Monday 30 September. The Film Society are offering a $40 three film sampler for non-members to see both films (plus another from the general programme). Their full programme for 2024 is available to view here.
Derek Jarman made eleven feature films, widely divergent in the subject and treatment, but united in sensibility and the radical ways they tackled queer sexuality, history and politics. He said that film making is another form of painting and got his break by working as a set designer on Ken Russell's The Devils which kicks off this screening programme.
Derek Jarman’s art works both with and fights against the possibilities of the gallery and the cinema, always seeking to draw something else out of the experience of making or seeing paintings and films. Let’s face it, he made some of the most painterly films you will ever see, and some of the most filmic paintings. And almost always, all of these were made with a range of actors, musicians and artists – always prioritising a collaborative way of working.
Delphinium Days the exhibition focuses on Jarman’s more experimental films, notably his Super 8s. These screenings provides the opportunity to put these works in conversation with his feature films and lets audiences see the ways that all of these and other works (including painting, writing and even gardening) fed into and off each other, and understand the powerful vision that sits behind them.
City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi are bolstering the Wellington Film Society screenings with three additional films selected and introduced by key members of Aotearoa’s art community who hold Jarman close. These will screen across three consecutive nights at City Gallery’s Adam Auditorium in November. Further details about these events and our expanded public programme staged across Wellington city and at the Dowse Art Museum will be announced closer to the time.
Derek Jarman: Delphinium Days is presented in partnership with The Dowse Art Museum. It 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, Aaron Lister, Senior Curator (Toi) at City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi, and Michael Lett.
This exhibition was made possible with the lead support of Tony Kerridge and Micheal Do, with additional support of the City Gallery Wellington Foundation, the Delphinium Days Exhibition Circle, and those who wish to remain anonymous. The Wellington Public Programme is brought to you by The British Council New Zealand and the Pacific. With thanks to Howard Sooley, Gordon Rainsford, Denis Doran, the Keith Collins Will Trust and Amanda Wilkinson, London. Films courtesy of LUMA Foundation and James MacKay.
