Transport for LondonPiccadillyland – By Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman
Piccadillyland by Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman
A new book - Piccadillyland - will be given away free to customers at Uxbridge, Cockfosters and Heathrow terminals 1, 2, and 3 on the 20 May.
Have you ever wondered how many novels have been inspired by travelling on the Tube? How many mysteries and dangerous liaisons have been conjured as travellers jog along from Cockfosters to Knightsbridge? How many fictional romances have blossomed or terminated at Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3?
From 20 May you can pick up a free copy of Piccadillyland from Uxbridge, Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to take with you on your journey.
Piccadillyland is the title of artists Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman’s first bookwork produced in the form of a contemporary fiction novel, commissioned by Art on the Underground. In bringing together extracts from novels originating from a wide range of periods, written by both well and lesser-known authors, Rushton and Derek have created a compilation of quotations which refer in some way to the Piccadilly line and its stations. The books from which the quotations originate will also be at the three stations, so customers can enjoy novels by the authors who have kindly leant their material to the project.
The aim of Piccadillyland was to commission an imaginative artwork that explores the Piccadilly line in a new way. The publication is part of a wider project Thin Cities – 100 Years of the Piccadilly line, this time focusing on the three ends of the line. Artists Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman were invited by Art on the Underground to create new work based on the Piccadilly line. The artists’ research led them to making this book. Between the covers of this publication is a unique picture of London Underground’s second longest line, a new approach to this historic transport route.
Piccadillyland participates in the geography and history of the Piccadilly line through re-contextualising the perceptions and descriptions of a range of writers. Rushton and Derek have created a new narrative which can be read as a linear work or via an index of stations which also allows the reader to focus on specific areas. The cover shows an illustration by the artists: collage-like in its design, which is composed of small sketches inspired by the novels from which the extracts were taken.
This project is another example of Art on the Underground’s unique commissioning programme, exploring the heritage of a significant London Underground line and encouraging the customer to engage with their journey in a new way.
Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman are artists based in Manchester, England. They have worked together collaboratively since 1997. Recent projects have been realised in Hong Kong, China, Breda and Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands and London, England. Piccadillyland is their first bookwork produced in the form of a contemporary fiction novel.
