INSPIRED BY: Dorothy Annan

Dorothy Annan (1908 – 1983) was a painter, potter and muralist. Her paintings are in many of the national collections.

I stumbled across Dorothy Annan’s work in the form of her mural now located at Barbican, formerly adorning the outside of the telephone exchange in Fleet House on Farringdon Street.

I felt compelled to touch the mural, there are many different textures pressed into the forty tiles which make up each of the nine panels of the mural that represents the ‘white heat of British technology’ at the time they were commissioned by the Ministry of Public Works in 1960.

Dorothy Annan undertook detailed research before beginning the mural, visiting the telephone exchange and taking detailed notes and sketches. The nine frames reflect the theme of ‘communication’; you can pick out radio aerials and telegraph poles, for example.

Admittedly, the muted colours and abstract nature of the mural are totally up my street, so to speak. But more than that, the mural was created at such a vibrant, forward-looking time in the UK that it is interesting to imagine what Dorothy Annan thought the future held at the time of creating this artwork; was she filled with excitement for the possibilities this new technology could hold for the future, or was she uncertain about the pace of change, wary of circuit boards taking over the world of then and now.

I implore you to stop by and see this deservedly rescued mural which apparently cost the princely sum of £300. SO worth it! In their new home they are an English Heritage Grade II listed, which will hopefully protect them for generations to come.