Skip to main content

Jon Dunleavy

Course Leader, BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects

Jon Dunleavy is an animation practitioner and academic, currently Course Leader for BA Animation and BA Animation and Visual Effects. His creative practice operates at the intersection of satire, critical commentary, and evolving technological discourse, particularly the social and philosophical implications of artificial intelligence. Through animation, Dunleavy interrogates societal constructs, often blending humour with critical reflection to challenge dominant narratives and provoke discussion.

Email Jon Dunleavy
portrait photo of lecturer Jon Dunleavy standing with arms by side and smiling at camera with short red hair and a plaid white and red shirt

My practice-based research explores the relationship between control and randomness, embedding human presence within digital systems. By using sound to drive visual form and incorporating simulation dynamics in 3D environments, I investigate how procedural and generative approaches can reflect, extend, or disrupt human authorship. This interplay between structured input and emergent outcomes is central to my exploration of the aesthetics and ethics of machine-human collaboration.

My short film Two Gracious Uncles Smooched to the Beat won at the 2024 British Animation Awards and exemplifies my interest in using subversive humour and experimental form to engage audiences. The film combines playful absurdity with critical intent, embodying the themes that underpin much of my work.

As both an artist and educator, I am driven by the question of what it means to be human—an idea that is increasingly urgent in the context of AI. My work seeks to expose, explore, and complicate that question through the lens of animation.

Everything is Going to be OK | Article in 'Stash' Obsolescence in Love | Article in 'Cartoon Brew'

Festival Screenings and awards

Two Gracious Uncles Smooched ot the Beat (2004)

Everything is Going to be OK (2020)

The Alt Guide (2018)

Crash Bang Wallow (2010)

Shadows and Dust (2010)

The Technical Hitch (2006)

 

Course Leader, BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects Course Leader, BA (Hons) Animation

Related courses

Discover our courses and take the first step towards unleashing your potential

View all courses