Biography

David Alister Chitty was born on 7th November 1938, and attended King's School in the Gothic surrounds of Gloucester Cathedral, a setting which imbued him from a young age with an appreciation for art and beauty.

At 17 he travelled alone to Paris to study the impressionists, with a particular interest in Gaughin, Modigliani and Cézanne.

At 18 he joined the RAF where he served for three years, during which time he was posted to Cyprus and drove ambulances during the Cyprus Emergency. There he saw first hand the horrors of war, almost succumbing to them himself when a bomb planted in a jukebox in his barracks exploded just a short distance away, killing several of his fellow men.

A keen swimmer, on his return home he swam competitively for Gloucester county and at one point was ranked number 3 in the country. At the swimming pool he met his future wife Chantal, a French countess and great-grandniece of architect Gustav Eiffel of the tower fame. They married, had three sons and moved to Langton House in Harvington, near Evesham, an early 18th century ivy-clad listed building which was the scene of much frivolity throughout the 1960s and 70s, and is the place where most of his early surrealist paintings were born. After their divorce, David had a daughter, Ra, with his long-term partner, artist Jane Patterson, and moved to his mother's home at Hillside, Leckhampton, where he remained until his death.

Though he maintained a more traditionally remunerative career in sales, David always found time to write and paint, developing his own magico-surrealist style. Though a mutual friend, poet and author William Curtis Hayward, David was introduced to Gerald Yorke, a former army major who had been Chinese correspondent for Reuters during the rise of communism and had developed a fascination with Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies there. Yorke later sought out infamous occultist Aleister Crowley and became his chief disciple and treasurer to Crowley's secret society Ordo Templo Orientis. David went for regular magick lessons with Yorke at his 16th century manor house at Forthampton Court, where other acolytes included The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Here he was inducted into the school of Typhonian magick, which lay a foundation for his own extensive studies and practice of Taoism, Hua Yen Buddhism and Tantra.

In 1983 he published The Butterflies of Thantos, a qabbalistic journey though a series of his paintings, interspersed with poetry and dystopian short stories. Despite securing high-profile fans such as Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Naked Lunch author William Boroughs and occultist Kenneth Grant (who took over O.T.O. after Crowley's death) and a feature spot on a BBC2 documentary about first-time writers, the book and its author remained relatively obscure.

His next venture into scriptwriting brought him considerably closer to fame. Of the eight feature film scripts that he wrote, Teen Tycoon, co-written with thriller novelist David Callinan, won the first ever Sunday Times screenwriting competition. Another venture, Taxi Driver and the Star Caged Venus, was picked up by Hollywood mega producer Robert Watts, responsible for 7 of the top 100 highest grossing movies of all time including the original Star Wars trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Papillon. Watts described the script as "the film I've been waiting all my life for", and took it on as executive-producer. Sadly poor health forced Watts to retire from the industry before the project could take off, and nobody else with sufficient clout could be found to take over the reigns, a very frustrating stalemate after such a promising start.

What began as promotional material for the film evolved into David's primary creative medium, The Magico-Cosmo Collages made under his pseudonym ROZAR 777, unique artworks crafted from a blend of his own paintings and photography mixed with images from classical art, religion, fashion and pop culture.

David's life took a tragic turn in 1997 with the death of his daughter Ra, aged 20, from cancer. He withdrew from public life and immersed himself in meditation and Buddhist practices, channelling his energy into a prolific outpouring of writing and art. The image of Ra features throughout his collages as the angelic figure of The Magical Child, also the name of an epic poem he wrote during this time.

Gradually David rediscovered his creative zeal and began work on what he envisioned as his magnum opus. Entitled The Pyramid of Impossible Dreams, it was a wildly ambitious project, intended to be one of the most expensive books ever sold, at £1m per copy, to be marketed to billionaires in order to raise money for the children from war-torn regions of the world.

David died on 13th September 2022 following a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Although he didn't live to see it published, he did complete the book which will be launched in 2024, and lived to see a resurgence of interest in his work, with his artworks being exhibited internationally, talks in progress with a view to bring some of his scripts to screen and a second edition of The Butterflies of Thantos which he was thrilled to see a proof copy of just days before he died.

David was an exuberant and flamboyant character who could be on the one hand highly abrasive and on the other exceedingly kind, thoughtful and generous, always seeing the best in people. He will be remembered fondly by his wide circle of friends for his warm smile, outrageous anecdotes and wicked sense of humour and by future generations for his highly original and thought-provoking art and writings.

David Alexander Hajducki, friend and publisher to D. A. Chitty, December 2022

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P.S. I am in process of gathering information to write a biography of David. If you knew him and wish to contribute any memories of him or information about his various projects, however small, please do contact me as they would be much appreciated.