Labyrinth is a 2013 artwork by the British artist Mark Wallinger which marks the 150th anniversary of the London Underground.
The artwork consisted of 270 enamel plaques of unique unicursal labyrinth designs, one for every station on the Underground at the time of the installation in 2013. [1] Although the individual shape of each labyrinth is unique, the design language of the labyrinths is identical (black on a white square of vitreous enamel, with a red cross). [1] Each is numbered according to its order in the route taken by the contestants in the 2009 Guinness World Records Tube Challenge. [2] Each labyrinth is located in a publicly accessible part of the station, such as a ticket hall, platforms or waiting room. [3] [4]
The permanent artwork was commissioned by Art on the Underground, the contemporary art programme of Transport for London (TfL), as part of the 150th anniversary of London Underground. [1] The artworks were manufactured by the same company that builds London Underground's signage. [5] The first works were unveiled at stations in February 2013, with all 270 installed by the end of 2013. [6]
As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations, Art on the Underground worked with the Royal College of Art and Mark Wallinger to create artistic workshops and events for young people, TfL staff and passengers – based around the Labyrinths. [7]
In October 2014, Art/Books published Labyrinth: A Journey Through London's Underground by Mark Wallinger, a comprehensive photographic book of all 270 labyrinth designs in situ in the Underground stations. [8] [9]
Two new labyrinths were unveiled by Wallinger on 18 October 2023 at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms stations, which had opened in 2021, increasing the total number of labyrinths to 272. The installation marked the 10th anniversary of the artwork and 160 years of the Tube. [10]
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it.
The Tube map is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was designed by Harry Beck in 1931. Since then, it has been expanded to include more of London's public transport systems, including the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, Tramlink, the London Cable Car and Thameslink.
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
Mark Wallinger is an English artist. Having previously been nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995, he won in 2007 for his installation State Britain. His work Ecce Homo (1999–2000) was the first piece to occupy the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. He represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2001. Labyrinth (2013), a permanent commission for Art on the Underground, was created to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground. In 2018, the permanent work Writ in Water was realized for the National Trust to celebrate where Magna Carta was signed at Runnymede.
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Kilburn is a London Underground station near Brondesbury Park in north-west London. It is on the Jubilee line, between Willesden Green and West Hampstead stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is on the A5 Kilburn High Road or Shoot-up Hill, approximately 0.1 miles (0.16 km) north of Brondesbury station. Metropolitan line trains typically bypass the station without stopping.
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South Ealing tube station is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Ealing. The station is on the Heathrow Airport branch of the Piccadilly line, between Acton Town and Northfields stations. It is located on South Ealing Road and is in Travelcard Zone 3.
Art on the Underground, previously called Platform for Art, is Transport for London's (TfL) contemporary public art programme. It commissions permanent and temporary artworks for London Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create covers for the Tube map, one of the largest public art commissions in the UK.
The Tube Challenge is the competition for the fastest time to travel to all London Underground stations, tracked as a Guinness World Record since 1960. The goal is to visit all the stations on the system, not necessarily all the lines; participants may connect between stations on foot, or by using other forms of public transport.
The Northern line extension to Battersea is an extension of the London Underground from Kennington to Battersea in South West London, terminating at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The extension formed a continuation of the Northern line's Charing Cross branch and was built beginning in 2015; it opened in 2021.
Nine Elms is a London Underground station in Nine Elms, London. The station opened on 20 September 2021, as part of the Northern line extension to Battersea. It serves the rapidly growing area, New Covent Garden Market and the Embassy of the United States.
Battersea Power Station is a London Underground station in Battersea, London, which forms the terminus of the Northern line extension to Battersea.
Benjamin Neel Critchley Moore is a British art curator, entrepreneur and artist. He is the founder and curator of Art Below, a contemporary art organisation that places art in public places and has had shows in England, Germany, Japan and the United States. He is also the founder and curator of Art Wars, an exhibition of designs based on the Imperial Stormtrooper helmets from Star Wars. In 2021, Moore was part of the Art Wars NFT project which resulted in massive losses for the purchasers of the NFTs and claims of copyright theft from artists whose physical work was reproduced without their permission.
The London Underground 2024 Stock, known as the New Tube for London (NTfL) during development, is a London Underground train being built by Siemens Mobility at its facilities in Goole, United Kingdom and Vienna, Austria. It is part of the Siemens Inspiro family of metro and rapid-transport trains.
Transported by Design was a programme of activities which aimed to raise awareness of the importance of both physical and service design in London's transport network. The 18-month long campaign showcased how design has helped shape London's transport system as known today.