"My book is dedicated to Harlequin, Tatterdemalion, Rag, Tag and Bobtail, in his red, blue and green patches. Mercurial trickster, black—masked. Chameleon who takes on every colour. Aerial acrobat, jumping, dancing, turning somersaults. Child of chaos.

Many Hued and wily
Changing his skin
Laughing to his fingertips
Prince of thieves and cheats
Breath of fresh air.

Doctor: And how did you manage to reach the moon?
Harlequin: Well... it was like this...
(Louis Duchartre, The Italian Comedy) ".

—Derek Jarman, Sping 1993.

Chroma is Derek Jarman’s last book. Derek Jarman (London, January 31st, 1942—February 19th, 1994) was a filmmaker, painter, writer, and gardener. He died from an AIDS-related illness in 1994, leaving behind films (Sebastiane, Jubilee, The Tempest, The Angelic Conversation, Caravaggio, The Last of England, War Requiem, The Garden, Edward II, Wittgenstein, Blue), books, and Prospect Cottage—the name attributed to his garden and black and yellow house in Dungeness, Kent. Apart from Jarman’s garden, Dungeness — which the English call the "fifth quarter of the world"—is known for its wetlands, its nuclear plant, its lighthouse (the prettiest in England) and the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s small steam train (the cutest in the world), mentioned in the chapter entitled "Grey Matter".

This collective reading is proposed in the context of Edit Oderbolz’s exhibition, Water Your Garden In The Morning, which has been extended through March 31, 2019. It takes place at École d'art de Belfort, 2 avenue de l'Espérance, Belfort.