Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case I, Shelf 139, Box II

"I want my life back. Which form do I fill in?"

Print
2003 (made), 21/10/2003 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This cartoon appeared in the Evening Standard on 21 October 2003, and is artist Marf's take on the current news story. As she describes it: 'Tube delays are rife in London as commuters struggle to get to work on time. The infrastructure of the tube, as shown in a series of investigations by the Evening Standard, is crumbling, and the repairs are shambolic and inefficient. With every line that is closed there is a domino effect and tube travellers are faced with persistent delays.'

'Marf' drew daily topical cartoons for the Evening Standard between March 2002 and August 2005, moving to the Londoner's Diary page in August 2003. The drawings cover key political and social issues of the period, providing a vivid and often hilarious response to the main news of the day. The Evening Standard is London's only evening newspaper, publishing up to five editions a day. In Marf's own words: 'The cartoonist needs to keep up with the rapid pace of event.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title"I want my life back. Which form do I fill in?" (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink on paper
Brief description
Reproduction of a cartoon, "I want my life back. Which form do I fill in?" by 'Marf' (Martha Richler), published in The Evening Standard, 21st October 2003; London.
Physical description
This is a print of a black and white line drawn cartoon. The scene is the interior of an underground railway station ticket hall. A very harrassed and bedraggled looking male commuter stands at a ticket booth talking to a bemused looking clerk. In the background are many equally harrassed looking commuters, male and female, some holding their heads, others crying, others looking annoyed and harrassing ticket station staff.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21cm
  • Width: 29.6cm
  • Image size height: 13.7cm
  • Image size width: 18cm
Production typeCopy
Marks and inscriptions
  • EVENING STANDARD 21 OCTOBER 2003 (Top left, printed)
  • "I want my life back. Which form do I fill in?" (Across bottom; title to piece, printed)
  • MARF (Artist signature bottom right of image, reproduced)
  • PLATFORM 3 [arrow down] (Sign, part of image)
  • Assistance / and tickets (Sign, part of image)
  • Service Info / DELAYS / DELAYS / OUT OF SERVICE / OUT OF SERVICE (Sign, part of image)
  • Our Customer / Charter (Leaflet, part of image)
  • refunds (Leaflet, part of image)
  • map (Leaflet, part of image)
  • 32 (Written in biro, top right)
  • Terrible tube delays assail London. / ORIGINAL PRINT by / MARF / 2003 (Written in pencil on reverse)
Credit line
Given by the artist
Object history
Donated by the artist.
Production
Attribution note: reproduction by artist of original drawing
Subjects depicted
Summary
This cartoon appeared in the Evening Standard on 21 October 2003, and is artist Marf's take on the current news story. As she describes it: 'Tube delays are rife in London as commuters struggle to get to work on time. The infrastructure of the tube, as shown in a series of investigations by the Evening Standard, is crumbling, and the repairs are shambolic and inefficient. With every line that is closed there is a domino effect and tube travellers are faced with persistent delays.'

'Marf' drew daily topical cartoons for the Evening Standard between March 2002 and August 2005, moving to the Londoner's Diary page in August 2003. The drawings cover key political and social issues of the period, providing a vivid and often hilarious response to the main news of the day. The Evening Standard is London's only evening newspaper, publishing up to five editions a day. In Marf's own words: 'The cartoonist needs to keep up with the rapid pace of event.'
Collection
Accession number
E.385-2007

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Record createdSeptember 3, 2007
Record URL
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