150 Years of London Underground

Today is the 150th anniversary of the London Underground! To celebrate, we will be exhibiting Simon Patterson's 'Saptarishi' at the London Art Fair next week.

Commissioned by the London Transport Museum last year, the print is a contemporary update of 'The Great Bear,' his iconic tube map from 1992. The artist has substituted the standard station names with his own, to create new lines of association: the Bakerloo Line is filled with spies; the Victoria Line with Victorians; and the Hammersmith and City Line is devoted entirely to the Murdochs in a nod to his 'Journalists' line from his earlier piece.

Also on display will be Susan Stockwell's 'Underground Map' - a hand-embroidered, limited edition handkerchief depicting the London tube lines. All have been coloured red, drawing a parallel between the city's transport system and an arterial network.

Simon Patterson | Saptarishi | 2012 | Screenprint on enamel | 102 x 127 cm | Signed, dated and editioned on reverse | Special limited edition of 15 | Commissioned by the London Transport Museum

Susan Stockwell | S Stockwell Underground Map | 2012 | Hand-embroidered handkerchief | 40 x 40 cm | Commissioned by the London Transport Museum | Signed certificate of authenticity

Susan Stockwell's 'Memento' World Map

Susan Stockwell was commissioned by the London Transport Museum to create a new work for their group exhibition 'Mind the Map' (18 May - 28 October 2012) using old train and tube tickets. Hundreds of the tickets were donated by the Friends of the Museum and the general public for the project, which she fashioned into a world map. The map harnesses the surprisingly rich and varied colours of the tickets to suggest changing climates and topography, from scorching sands around the equator to forest greens and deep cool blues at the poles. Each ticket is a reminder of one of the countless personal journeys that are made across the globe; they are records of particular trips, saved as keepsakes and tucked away in scrapbooks for years and sometimes decades. It's a thoughtful memento to the paper ticket, which is fast becoming a thing of the past, replaced by swipe cards and electronic systems.

Susan Stockwell | Memento | 2012 | Paper, glue and board | 100 x 230 x 5 cm | Commissioned for the London Transport Museum 'Mind the Map' exhibition, May - October 2012

The Making of London Subterranea

This video by Dominic J Holland offers some great insights into Stephen Walter's London Subterranea project. We released the limited edition print at the London Original Print Fair, and the original artwork will be on display at the London Transport Museum's Mind the Map exhibition from 18 May to 28 October 2012. Please contact us for details.