Magic Lantern

Autumn 2011, Northwold Primary School, Hackney, London

This project contrasted the storytelling of Victorian Magic Lanterns with contemporary digital animation. Artist Kerry Stewart led two Year 4 classes in making their own individual Magic Lanterns with personal stories painted onto glass. 

The emphasis was on how the children could create something so powerful in the magic of darkness with only a shoebox, torch, magnifying glass and the little painted scenes on glass.

The second part of the project, led by artist and animator Reza Ben Gajra, was an exuberant explosion of paper cutting, filming and recording involving the whole class working intensively over1.5 days.

Two impressive short films were created based on the books ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘The Great Kapok Tree’.

On the last day the children shared their Magic Lantern stories and animation stories with their audience. Some ghoul slides were projected onto screens in the dark playground. Smoke from a smoke machine added to the atmosphere.