The End of the World, Thirty Years On

Driven by the idea that ‘photography immortalises the world and survives after its end,’ in 2019 photographer Kyoji Takahashi published his photo book World’s End. His desire was to visually communicate this message, and illustrate his encounter with the British director Derek Jarman. 

Born in 1960, Kyoji Takahashi is famous for his capacity to ‘capture the essence of time.’ His work, whether for advertising or artistry, has been published in some of the world’s most famous publications, including Purple, as well as having been exhibited in prestigious museums such as the Centre Pompidou.

World’s End is in response to the death of the filmmaker Derek Jarman in 1994. The photo book gathers images of Jarman’s Prospect Cottage in the south of England where he ended his life, suffering from HIV. These are interspersed with images of the streets of Berlin, London, and Tokyo. The photos have been published by Takahashi almost 30 years after they were taken. According to the photographer it is difficult ‘to explain with words, because this is not something logical. I thought it was the right timing,’ he said. 

The Soul of Derek Jarman

Marked by this experience, Takahashi explains that Jarman’s garden was a space where the German artist would place, among the plants and the flowers, objects that he found along the shoreline, like driftwood or rusting metal. It was ‘a place like the world’s end. At the same time, everything was there.’

The photographs are coupled with poems composed by Jarman and Takahashi. An extract:

All is tossed by waves, changing shape.
Iron left to rust, stone worn by holes.
What of the soul….
Derek Jarman’s soul, picks up gifts cast ashore from the sea,
and places them in his garden.

Derek Jarman’s cottage was recently saved by a crowdfunding campaign and will remain a commemoration to his work.

World’s End (2019), by Kyoji Takahashi is published by Blue Sheep.