Commissioned by Art on the Underground, Pae White’s …fragment of a Magic Carpet, circa 1213 takes the form of a fragment of a Persian rug, woven from the colours of the Tube map.
White’s cover for the pocket Tube map used the flying carpet motif as a suggestion of magical transport.
White says: ‘The work plays on the idea of networks, storytelling and mythology – weaving the colours of the different Underground lines from Harry Beck’s iconic Tube map together as a rug. I felt that presenting it as a fragment acts as proof of the “real thing”, even though the carpet itself is mythological and I’m interested in the contrast when digitally representing an antique, imaginary object.’
