Blue 1993 is a film by the British artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman which features a single static shot of the colour blue with a voiceover and musical soundtrack. The voiceover, written by Jarman, consists of a diaristic and poetic text documenting his AIDS-related illness and impending death at a time that he had become partially blind, his vision often interrupted by blue light. The film is Jarman’s last feature and was completed only a few months before he died. Consequently, Blue forms a direct counterpart to the late painting Ataxia - Aids is Fun 1993 in its evocation of Jarman’s final illness, albeit from a very different standpoint.

The visual language of Blue – an unchanging blue screen – directly references Yves Klein’s (1928–1962) evocation of the void and zones of immateriality through his use of the colour ‘International Klein Blue’ The film’s voiceover is spoken by Jarman alongside long-term collaborators Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry and John Quentin. The text – often spoken as a form of verse – is augmented by music and sound by Jarman’s regular composer Simon Fisher-Turner, as well as Coil, Momus, Karol Szymanowski and Eric Satie. (Tate)

• Franck Vigroux