‘Uproarious and unapologetic… as affirming as the perennial plants pushing through nuclear shingle on Jarman’s bleak and beautiful beach’ Philip Hoare In 1986 Derek Jarman discovered he was HIV positive and decided to make a garden at his cottage on barren coast of Dungeness. Facing an uncertain future, he nevertheless found solace in nature, growing all manner of plants. While some perished beneath wind and sea spray others flourished, creating brilliant, unexpected beauty in the wilderness. Modern Nature is both a diary of the garden and a meditation on Jarman’s own life: his childhood; his time as a young gay man in the 1960’s; his renowned career as an artist, writer and film-maker. It is at once a lament for a lost generation, an unabashed celebration of gay sexuality and a devotion to all that is living.
