London, United Kingdom: Denis Doran [NETWORK PHOTOGRAPHERS], 1991. 25,4×20,4 cm [full sheet].

Silver gelatin photograph by Denis Doran.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are the London house of an international order of gay male nuns who, by 1991, had become radical left-wing activists and vicious critics of the UK government’s lack of care in confronting the Aids crisis. Frustrated that “exactly £0 had been spent on research” and seeing their community suffering and dying as a result, they decided they wanted to make a stand and make someone a saint – but who? Diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and a master of many forms of activism, Jarman was openly gay and open about his illness – he was the perfect candidate. So on 22 September 1991, the Sisters took a trip down to Prospect Cottage garden in Dungeness to lay hands on their beloved Dessie. [The Guardian] Informational label pasted verso. Near Fine.