Richard Long – New Tube map cover artwork

Richard Long - New Tube map cover artwork

Acclaimed British artist Richard Long has designed the latest Pocket Tube map cover for Art on the Underground, which customers can pick up at Tube stations for free from September 2009.

The work, entitled 'Earth', shows the different colours of the Tube lines stacked on top of each other, with the black grid between them referencing the Northern line. The image echoes the format of an I Ching hexagram symbolising 'Earth', a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines from the ancient Chinese Book of Changes. The philosophies of the I Ching recur in Long’s work: his current show at Tate Britain opens with two dramatic hexagrams representing Heaven and Earth, from which the exhibition takes its title.

The choice of the Earth symbol for the Tube map is an obvious one for Long, whose work always involves an exploration of the earth's surface, time, distance, geography, measurement and movement. These connect with the I Ching's ideas about the dynamic balance of opposites and acceptance of the inevitability of change.

Tamsin Dillon, Head of Art on the Underground said: 'I am very impressed by Richard Long's approach to this Tube map cover commission, his combination of the Tube line colours with the I Ching will be compelling food for thought for our customers.'

The Art on the Underground Programme can offer passengers a moment of contemplation while travelling across the Capital. 'Earth' hopes to encourage passengers to think beyond their fast-paced London journeys. Responding to the recent Richard Long print giveaway, one London Underground customer said: 'It takes you away from your day to day world and delivers you to another, to your imagination' and another, 'it brings a little magic to the commute...'

Long’s work is the latest in a series commissioned by Art on the Underground for the pocket Tube map cover. Other artists who have made works for this series include Emma Kay (who created the first cover in 2003), Jeremy Deller, David Shrigley, Cornelia Parker and Gary Hume.

Useful links

• Jeremy Deller
• David Shrigley
• Cornelia Parker
• Gary Hume
• For more information on Heaven and Earth at Tate Britain

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