TQS StaffSeason 4 of Canary Wharf Screen sees Art on the Underground collaborate with BFI to produce a season of films showcasing previously unseen footage, rare and restored film, and recent experimental works by some of today’s most renowned British film & video artists.The three-part programme, sourced from the BFI National Archive, will be screened in the ticket hall of Canary Wharf tube station from 12th December 2012 – March 2013 and coincides with the 150th anniversary of the London Underground in January 2013.
The season begins with a series of films exploring the contrast between images of nature and the concrete environment in which they will be screened. Films include The Angelic Conversation, 1985, a homo erotic arthouse film by Derek Jarman narrated by Judi Dech, and the first example of time-lapse photography Birth of a Flower (below) by Percy E Smith in 1910.
To coincide with the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, Part 2 of Season 4 comprises films featuring the tube itself. These include Underground, a silent feature film directed by Anthony Asquith which charts London in the 1920s and Ralph Kenne’s film Under Night Streets, which documents the ‘fluffers’ who cleaned 100 tons a year of dust, human hair and skin flakes to maintain the tube system in the 1950s.
The season concludes with a double bill of feature-length creative archive documentary films by award-winning directors Penny Woolcock and Julien Temple that tell the story of the last century, and simultaneously tell the history of film itself.
The films will be screened in the ticket hall of Canary Wharf so you don’t need to buy tickets and films will be screened throughout the day!
By Jamie McHale
