Queer, 1992 (oil on canvas)

Blood red canvas with a heart half-painted, half-scratched into red ground. The word "QUEER" is scrawled across the heart in a thick impasto style, flecks and smudges of baby blue and white paint are visible across the graffitied text as the undercoat is exposed by the scratched marks. Derek Jarman was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986, causing expressions of sexuality and political protest to occupy much of his expressive output. This particular work marks his own defiance in the face of social stereotyping and increasing hysteria generated by the tabloid press surrounding the AIDS crisis. It could be seen as an ironic gesture playing on the violence and unfamiliarity wrongly dealt to homosexual individuals during this period.