Sarah Wood

Prospect is a new film installation made from never-before-seen footage of artist and activist Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage and the surrounding landscape. Filmed in the late 1980s, these rushes capture the quiet beauty of the Kent coast and the rhythm of Jarman’s daily life.

The footage was shot in preparation for The Garden (1990). Some was used in the final film – but much of it remained unseen. Now, over 30 years later, this material is brought to light, revealing a tender and radical way of seeing the world.

Each frame speaks of care – care for people, Nature, and a slower, more thoughtful way of living. It invites us to pause, to pay attention, and to rediscover what really matters.

Jarman’s life was shaped by protest, creativity and compassion. He stood up for others in difficult political times. As we face similar challenges today, Prospect looks to his legacy for ways to resist, heal and hope.

Part archive, part poetic essay, Prospect offers a moving tribute to Jarman’s vision – grounded in love, openness and the power of community. It invites us to carry his spirit forward and imagine a future shaped by care.

Read the transcript of PROSPECT here.

Find out more about Prospect Cottage

^{Photo by Thierry Bal}

Sarah Wood is an artist filmmaker, writer and curator whose work explores how history is told through images. Using found footage, still photography and text, she investigates the role of the archive in shaping memory, truth and collective imagination.

Her films and installations open up space to reflect on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from migration and freedom of expression to the politics of storytelling. Always questioning whose voices are heard, Wood creates thoughtful, layered works that invite viewers to look again and listen differently.

Recent projects include Project Paradise at Fruitmarket, Edinburgh (2023), Here is Elsewhere at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (2020), and the artist books Civilisation and Its Malcontents (2017) and The Enigmatic Message (2018).

She lives and works in the UK.

With additional support from Art Fund, Basilisk Communications, BFI, and Luma Foundation.