A new book – Piccadillyland – will be given away free to customers at Uxbridge, Cockfosters or Heathrow terminals 1, 2, and 3 on 20 May
Have you ever wondered how many novels have been inspired by travelling on the Tube? How many mysteries, murders 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? On 20 May you can pick up a free copy of Piccadillyland from Uxbridge, Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3 stations to take with you on your journey.
Piccadillyland, commissioned by Art on the Underground, is the first bookwork by Emma Rushton and Derek Tymanto be produced in the form of a contemporary novel. In bringing together extracts from novels originating from a wide range of periods, written by both well-known and lesser-known authors, the artists have created a compilation of quotations that refer in some way to the Piccadilly line and its stations. The books from which the quotations originate will also be available at the three stations, so that 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, but this time focuses on the three ends of the line. The artists’ research led them to propose making this book. Between its covers is a unique picture of the 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 Tyman have created a new narrative that can be read as a linear work or via an index of stations that allows the reader to focus on specific areas. The cover shows an illustration by the artists: collage-like in its design, it 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 customers to engage with their journeys in a new way.
