St. Derek of Dungeness

I made this work to accompany my Fine Art dissertation and degree show in 1996.  I had written about the activist, artist and film maker Derek Jarman who had died of Aids in 1994.    This is one of my first works in the medium of soft sculpture.  I wanted to portray a side to Jarman that showed his warmth and vunerabiity and chose to use the medium of wool.  I didn’t have any idea how it was going to work but I started by going to Leeds city market and buying some flesh coloured wool and a crochet hook.  It took me six months to complete and remains my favourite medium.  My portrait of Derek also shows his home and garden in Dungeness.  I chose the image as a juxtaposition of someone who was dying yet creating new life elsewhere. The title 'St. Derek of Dungeness' refers to his canonisation by the ‘Sisters of perpetual indulgence’!  Interestingly, in March of 2020 following a sucessful crowdfunding campaign by the actress Tilda Swinton, the home and garden at Dungeness have now been saved for the Nation as a specific site of interest and inspiration.