An artwork by Agnes Denes, a leading pioneer of the environmental art movement, features on the cover of the 41st Pocket Tube map, which launched on 12 June 2025 on posters across the city. Commissioned by Art on the Underground in the organisation’s 25th anniversary year, the 41st Tube Map Cover continues Denes’s exploration of environmental and social issues and the challenges of global survival.
Denes’s Map Projections is a digital drawing that presents an alternate perception of space and time by projecting a section of the globe onto a cube rather than a sphere. It renders a 3D form into a 2D artwork by a process called isometric projection, often used in technical sketches, and references Denes’s renowned 1970s series, Isometric Systems in Isotropic Space – Map Projections, which took the familiar form of the globe and distorted it into different shapes, including The Hotdog, The Pyramid and The Snail. The outline of the continents in the current and previous works precisely follow this distortion.
The new form of the globe is an “electrified” rendering, with glowing lines illuminated against a pitch-black background. This transformation of the globe into a distorted, electrified form is similar to the way that the Tube map turns the London transport network into a navigable diagram.
Throughout her career, Denes’s scientifically-based drawings, prints and architectural designs have combined science, mathematics, philosophy and environmentalism. Her pioneering environmental art, including Wheatfield – A Confrontation (1982), a two-acre field of wheat planted and harvested in downtown Manhattan, New York, is one of many monumental works that have drawn attention to global ecological disaster and demonstrate Denes’s role in transforming the Land Art movement towards social action.
Map Projections will be printed on the cover of pocket Tube maps from early July. The maps will be available for free at all TfL stations, and a poster with the design is now displayed across the network, offering a preview.
Eleanor Pinfield, Head of Art on the Underground, said: “Denes uses Map Projections to reimagine the earth and the place of humans on it. Here, taking on the cover of the Pocket Tube map, her projection reimagines our place in the city and will be used by millions of people as they navigate the urban environment. Her electrified map reminds us of the interconnectedness of all things – which makes up the beauty of our shared existence.”
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “The pocket Tube map is much loved and a place to discover some of the world’s most important artists. Agnes Denes is no exception, it’s a real privilege to share this new commission with thousands of Londoners and visitors as they travel around London, bringing world class art into the everyday. A great addition to TfL and Art on the Underground’s pocket map on its 25th anniversary year, helping us build a better London for everyone.”
