Hasta La Ideas

To celebrate 100 years since the birth of animator Joy Batchelor, Art on the Underground is currently screening a series of her films at Canary Wharf station in London.

Batchelor, who died in 1991, gained fame largely for her work with her husband John Halas. The duo worked together through their production company Halas and Batchelor, and were particularly recognised for their animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm in 1954, which is shown in full below.

The screening of Batchelor’s work in Canary Wharf is part of a season of films titled Birds Eye View: Past, Present and Future, which celebrates work by women filmmakers and is curated by Art on the Underground alongside the Birds Eye View Film Festival. Four of Batchelor’s films are being shown on Canary Wharf Screen, a public projection screen in the station. These include Your Very Good Health, shown below, which was created in 1948 to help explain the newly founded NHS to the public.

A later work by Batchelor that is also showing is The Five, below. Made in 1970, this film shows the influence of 1960s style on Batchelor’s animation, but retains the same witty humour evident in her earlier works.

Alongside these two films, Art and the Underground is also showing Farmer Charley (1949) and Modern Guide to Health (1946) by Batchelor at Canary Wharf Screen until June 18. Don’t miss out on the chance to see these influential works on the big screen.

More info on the Birds Eye View: Past, Present and Future season can be found here.