Gilbert McCarragher talks about his photo story on Derek Jarman's eclectic home

Image from the book Prospect Cottage: Derek Jarman's House by Gilbert McCarragher
As the cottage is rarely open to the public, the photographs provide a unique and compelling glimpse into the life of one of our late great artists, 30 years after his death in 1994 (Image credit: Gilbert McCarragher)

While its garden is well-trodden, Prospect Cottage’s interiors remained largely private after famed film director Derek Jarman died in 1994. The photographs and essays in my book on Prospect Cottage explain my experience of being inside Prospect, revealing the care given to it by Derek’s companion Keith Collins across 24 years following Derek’s death, before Keith too sadly passed away. 

In 2018, Keith became unwell with a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. Friends and neighbors became very concerned for him and for what his illness might mean for Prospect, to which he had so dutifully tended. During this uncertainty, I was asked to photograph the cottage to record how it was at that moment.

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Gilbert McCarragher
Architectural Photographer & Author
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