HOWard sooley
Howard Sooley is a photographer and filmmaker who began his professional life when Vogue magazine sent him on his first assignment to Moscow to take a portrait of Rupert Everett. Then followed an eventful career in fashion photography throughout the 1980’s, until, that is, in 1991, when The Face magazine commissioned him to photograph Derek Jarman in his Dungeness home, Prospect Cottage. This serendipitous meeting was to become extremely important for both he and Jarman became great friends, whilst forging friendships with leading figures of the gardening community – Christopher Lloyd, Beth Chatto and Fergus Garrett – as well as endlessly visiting inspiring nurseries and gardens. Sooley was also an experienced and passionate gardener and so began to work with Jarman on the making of his garden.
“Working with Derek was the first time I made a garden. There were no lawns or flowerbeds or expectations about what you should or shouldn’t do. It was an open-hearted intervention in a place and people just wandered in and shared what we were doing.”
He created carefully composed photopgaphs of the garden and visitors, close friends and work associates of Jarman, who was at this time entering the final stages various illnesses. Some of these images were included in the landmark book Derek Jarman’s Garden.
Today, it is now possible to embrace these photographic works as an immersive, shared contextual journey into the personal and political landscape of that time. Perhaps now they could be considered even more relevant and important.
Sooley also makes films, collaborates with publications and is continually sharing his images and journeys via @idleriver on Instagram. Like Jarman, he embraces contexts, people and stories throughout his body of work, bringing photography into our lives through different media, underlying the power of images shared carefully, peacefully and passionately.
Fillingham and Company are working with Howard Sooley on a new print edition for 2025. Follow us on Instagram for updates.