Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case TOPIC, Shelf 10, Box C

Print

2005 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This free pocket-sized tube map has a cover commissioned by Platform for Art for London Underground. To explore ideas about mapping and route-finding, the artist used the colours of the lines from the classic tube map devised by Henry Beck E.816-1979). David Shrigley drew the lines as a confused tangle, to be magically clarified and organised when one unfolds the map.

Platform for Art, London Underground's art programme, commissions artists to create work for the travel network. This continues London Transport's tradition of commissioning artists to create publicity material. As part of this programme, some artists were invited to create covers for the London Underground pocket map.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Offset lithography on paper
Brief description
Pocket tube map with cover designed by David Shrigley; United Kingdom, 2005
Physical description
Pocket map of the London Underground, which folds into three vertically, with an image on the front of a tangle of lines in the colours used to represent each of the London Underground lines.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14.5cm
  • Folded width: 7cm
approximate viewed through glass
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • London Underground (Top of front cover, white on blue strip)
  • Tube map (In blue on white towards top of front cover)
  • October 2005 (In red on white towards top of front cover)
  • MAYOR / OF LONDON (In blue (ON in red) on white towards bottom left of front cover)
  • Transport for London (In blue on white towards bottom right of front cover)
  • [London Underground logo] (Red and blue on white, white lettering, towards bottom right of front cover)
Gallery label
London Underground Pocket Tube Maps Emma Kay (born 1961), 2003 David Shrigley (born 1968), 2005 Yinka Shonibare (born 1962), 2006 These tube map covers were commissioned by Platform for Art for London Underground. Each artist has used the colours of the lines from the classic tube map devised by Henry Beck to explore ideas about mapping and route- finding. Emma Kay's design suggests a tube tunnel; David Shrigley's confused tangle is magically clarified when the map unfolds; Yinka Shonibare's design reflects London's multicultural population and heritage, and shows the true relative surface areas of each country by using the Peters projection (1974). Offset lithography on paper Published by Transport for London Given by Platform for Art(2007)
Credit line
Given by Riikka Kuittinen
Subject depicted
Summary
This free pocket-sized tube map has a cover commissioned by Platform for Art for London Underground. To explore ideas about mapping and route-finding, the artist used the colours of the lines from the classic tube map devised by Henry Beck E.816-1979). David Shrigley drew the lines as a confused tangle, to be magically clarified and organised when one unfolds the map.

Platform for Art, London Underground's art programme, commissions artists to create work for the travel network. This continues London Transport's tradition of commissioning artists to create publicity material. As part of this programme, some artists were invited to create covers for the London Underground pocket map.
Collection
Accession number
E.411-2007

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Record createdNovember 19, 2007
Record URL
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