DEREK JARMAN

On Friday 8th September The Artist Dining Room at Yinka Shonibare’s project space Guest Projects returned to host an unforgettable evening of culinary and curatorial collaboration, to honor the remarkable life and multifaceted practice of the film director, cinematographer, artist, author and passionate gardener Derek Jarman.

Jarman was also a devoted activist who fought publicly for Gay Rights and with 2017 marking the 50th anniversary since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain, this supper club comes at both an important and appropriate time.

Curator Philipp Fürnkäs and the brilliant chef duo Mike Knowlden and Josh Pollen from Blanch and Shock joined creative forces to bring the diners a unique multi-sensory feast. Guests will indulge in a five-course menu, with each dish performing as a retrospective encounter, taking the diners on a journey through the chapters of Derek Jarman’s life and practice; exposing traits, themes and narratives in his work. 

Photograph of Derek Jarman. Image Courtesy of Keith Collins.

Guest Host: Philipp Fürnkäs

Philipp Fürnkäs is a freelance curator and writer based between London and Cologne. In 2010 Philipp curated the exhibition NUMBER FOUR: DEREK JARMAN - SUPER8 at the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Dusseldorf and co-published the exhibition catalogue. The exhibition collaborated with Jarman’s film producer James Mackay, to present the first comprehensive retrospective of the experimental film works of Derek Jarman from his Super8 archives. Philipp is currently living in London and working as the Studio Manager for Isaac Julien Studio.

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Guest Chef: Blanch and Shock

South London-based Chef duo Mike Knowlden and Josh Pollen who together form Blanch and Shock, will be curating a delicious multi-course menu inspired by the life and work of Derek Jarman.

Their work includes extensive research of food provenance and culinary technique, and often involves translating abstract or intangible concepts into dinners, dishes, drinks and aromas, using the best ingredients they can source from a network of small scale, specialist suppliers around the UK.  Recent projects have included a theatrical Roman feast for the Royal Shakespeare Company and a series of dinners at Wellcome Collection, inspired by the history of refrigeration. 

In Autumn 2017 they will open their first location, a workshop and studio in Camberwell where they will develop new projects and host dinners, tastings and talks.

www.blanchandshock.com  /  @blanchandshock

MENU

Girolles, grains and butter

Brown shrimp and beach plants

Lamb, beets and red fruits

Goat cheese, honey and pollen

Pears, roses and roseroot

 

(Please note: A vegetarian menu is also available for the evening and can be selected at check out)

Derek Jarman's former home Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, Kent

Derek Jarman (1942 – 1994) was a maverick of British cinema, and one of the most iconic and prolific filmmakers in the late 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s. Best known for his collection of experimental Super-8 shorts and feature length films (Jubilee (1977) recognised as the first punk movie, Caravaggio (1986) and Blue (1993), a moving memoir that exposed Jarman’s degeneration for AIDS), Jarman was also hugely renowned for his set design, writing and poetry. He was also an avid activist for Gay Rights and contributed publicly as a spokesman to promote awareness of HIV.

Later in his life Jarman became an ardent gardener, taking refuge in the shadow of the Dungeness nuclear power station where he inhabited his famous shingle cottage-garden he named Prospect Cottage. The house and garden became the subject of several of his books and an inspiration for Jarman’s last paintings.

Jarman passed away in 1994 due to an AID’s related illness.

The Artist Dining Room is located at artist Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects space in East London. The Artist Dining Room collaborates with London-based chefs to hold a series of unique and bespoke artist led supper clubs, offering an alternative dining experience where creative minds can engage and immerse themselves in the life and works of an artist through food. Previous supper clubs have been inspired by Artists and Art movements, including Louise Bourgeois, David Lynch, Kurt Schwitters, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Sophie Calle, Kara Walker, Nan Goldin, Francesca Woodman and Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Guest Projects is an initiative conceived by artist Yinka Shonibare MBE which offers the opportunity to artistic practitioners, of any artistic discipline (dance, visual arts, music), to have access to a free project space. Alongside Regent’s Canal, Guest Projects provides an alternative universe and playground for artists. It is a laboratory of ideas and a testing ground for new thoughts and actions.