In her review of Jarman's diaries My Nature – which among other things covers the period when he was living with AIDS in a house on the coast of Kent – Olerud writes that: "All his life he has needed to be able to hide. In this way, the garden and the crawl space on the headland become part of a green tradition of queer sanctuaries."

Olerud, Lengali, Bains, and Logendran meet to discuss an artistic practice that spans various media, from painting and books to film and costumes. What is made possible in film's visual landscape that might be more difficult in written form? What kind of publication is the artist's diaries? And can the garden be a site for queer liberation?

Half waking dream and half burning manifesto; The Garden was born out of director Derek Jarman's rage over persistent discrimination against gay people and the sluggish response to the AIDS crisis. Shot on fragile Super 8 film in the surroundings of Prospect Cottage, the director's sparsely furnished home, right next to a nuclear power plant on the barren, windswept Dungeness coast, The Garden offers insight into Jarman's inner world. The film explores recurring themes in his artistic practice and features a cast of religious figures, including Jesus, Judas, and the Madonna, played by his regular muse Tilda Swinton.

Maria Olerud is a literary critic at Morgenbladet, journalist, political scientist, and short story writer. Her most recent publication is Blomsterkrans (Aschehoug, 2023).

Jonathan August Lengali is a poet. His most recent publication is Om gay seterdrift (Forlaget Oktober, 2025).

Priya Bains is editor at Vinduet, and is also active as a poet, translator, and essayist. Her most recent publication is Med restene av mine hender (Forlaget Oktober, 2021).

Abirami Logendran is film curator at Kunstnernes Hus Kino.

Vinduet is Gyldendal's journal for literature and was founded in 1947. In Vinduet you can read essays on literary themes, book reviews, interviews with authors, journalistic pieces, and newly written fiction.