Special Discretion Required by Simon Dredge

This plate is the beginning of my deeper exploration in florals and mixed media.

Jarman was a huge fan of cruising, especially on Hampstead Heath. Gay cruising refers to the act of seeking anonymous or semi-anonymous sexual encounters in public spaces. Cruising developed as both a necessity and a form of resistance, a way for gay men to find intimacy, connection, community, and pleasure in environments that didn’t otherwise allow for open expression of gay and queer desires. This plate represents Jarman watching all the activity going on at the Heath. He’s not hiding; maybe he’s being slightly voyeuristic, which, as humans, we all are.

“Special Discretion Required” films were usually shown on a Friday after 11pm. I watched these films as a young teenager and started to see a world I wanted to be part of.

It was like I was watching these films the way Jarman is watching people in the piece.

This plate is a mixed media collage of ceramic slips, ceramic stains, watercolours, acrylic paints, and acrylic inks. Varnish and lacquer.

36cm