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Mark Wallinger: Labyrinth: A Journey Through London's Underground
Celebrating London’s Underground, Mark Wallinger (born 1959) created a vast work of public art. In each of the 270 stations, he placed a uniquely designed labyrinth, which this volume documents, with photographs of all 270 labyrinths in situ.
- GenresArt
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2014
22 people want to read
About the author
Jane Rendell
20 books7 followersJane Rendell is Lecturer in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 25, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson
I remember realising that I’d be using the Tube on a regular basis in my twenties and being romantically in love with that thought. The bustle at Stratford or Liverpool Street, depending on how comfy I was on the overground, the digital countdown clocks dictating whether to sit down or not (and the late night drunk/upset/tired and confused squint to find them!), tube mice being more sociable than the commuters watching, the white and red carriages rattling through, seat fabrics changing from line to line, the variety of escalators and stairs to get in and out of these secret zones in a necessary other world. There were terrible days and journeys of course often overheating in a selection of 90s/early noughties Gap macs and Top Shop coats that were too hot to travel in but too cold for outside, but it was still everything that I hoped for. I’d taken many forms of public transport to move around in life up to this point, but nothing felt quite like this… and this book is a celebration of all these little moments and so much more
Date associated design, architecture, local history, transport, art, typography, maps... Tube history and it’s use - all this before we even got to the bespoke art installations! A fantastically interesting coffee table book that I really enjoyed dipping in and out of with a big glass of indulgent wine each time - I also can’t wait to visit the Osterley bookshop with original archway detail as the city continues to mould around this network… and I still can’t decide which was my favourite labyrinth…?!
“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson
I remember realising that I’d be using the Tube on a regular basis in my twenties and being romantically in love with that thought. The bustle at Stratford or Liverpool Street, depending on how comfy I was on the overground, the digital countdown clocks dictating whether to sit down or not (and the late night drunk/upset/tired and confused squint to find them!), tube mice being more sociable than the commuters watching, the white and red carriages rattling through, seat fabrics changing from line to line, the variety of escalators and stairs to get in and out of these secret zones in a necessary other world. There were terrible days and journeys of course often overheating in a selection of 90s/early noughties Gap macs and Top Shop coats that were too hot to travel in but too cold for outside, but it was still everything that I hoped for. I’d taken many forms of public transport to move around in life up to this point, but nothing felt quite like this… and this book is a celebration of all these little moments and so much more
Date associated design, architecture, local history, transport, art, typography, maps... Tube history and it’s use - all this before we even got to the bespoke art installations! A fantastically interesting coffee table book that I really enjoyed dipping in and out of with a big glass of indulgent wine each time - I also can’t wait to visit the Osterley bookshop with original archway detail as the city continues to mould around this network… and I still can’t decide which was my favourite labyrinth…?!
February 21, 2024
A lovely art book.
My brain no longer finds this exercise relaxing, though. Bummer.
My brain no longer finds this exercise relaxing, though. Bummer.
March 6, 2016
In celebration of London's Underground, artist Mark Wallinger created 'labyrinth' artworks for each of the 270 stations. This book is a fabulous read on the individual histories of each Tube station and Wallinger's creative reasoning behind his creations. A bit bigger than a coffee table book, but nonetheless just as enjoyable to pair with a nice cup of joe.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews