A new artwork co-commissioned by Art on the Underground and New Contemporaries
Ahmet Öğüt is a sociocultural initiator, artist and lecturer, working across a variety of media, including photography, video, and installation. Ahmet often uses humour and interventions to offer commentary on serious or pressing social and political issues. His new commission, ‘Saved by the Whale’s Tail, Saved by Art’, is a major new project that reflects on the vital role art plays in our everyday lives.
At the heart of the commission is a major new installation at Stratford Underground station. The work takes inspiration from a remarkable real-life event that occurred in 2020 near Rotterdam, when a derailed train was miraculously caught by a sculpture of a whale’s tail, preventing disaster. For Öğüt, this surreal and poetic moment became a powerful metaphor for how art—often dismissed as decorative or superfluous—can, quite literally and figuratively, be lifesaving.
To accompany the commission, Art on the Underground and New Contemporaries issued a public call-out for real-life stories from across the UK about times when art has saved, transformed, or reshaped lives. From April to June 2025, posters featuring the call-out were displayed throughout the London Underground network, inviting commuters to reflect on and share their personal experiences.
From hundreds of submissions, Helen Whitley’s story ‘The Bracelet’ was selected and is featured—alongside a range of other powerful entries—in a special publication available for free at Stratford station and on the Art on the Underground website. These stories bring to light the deep personal impact of art across communities, and collectively affirm its essential place in society at a moment when cultural institutions and artistic programmes face growing precarity.
By amplifying these voices, Öğüt’s ‘Saved by the Whale’s Tail, Saved by Art’ not only transforms public space but also invites us all to reconsider what we value, protect, and fight for in our shared cultural life.
“An artist is not someone who is by default marginalized from society as a radical thinker, a gifted outsider, or a mysterious loner. An artist is also a friend, a comrade, a mother, a sibling—someone who is part of the community and an integral part of the social fabric. Artists are often seen as those who pose questions without providing answers, or as individuals who can address issues only symbolically, without the ability to fix the world. However, the role of art and artists goes far beyond that. There are artworks and artists who have had a real, transformative impact on society.” Ahmet Öğüt.
This project is generously supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and Reed.
Following routine inspection and safety review, TfL will be undertaking works to some of the glazing at Stratford Station. Whilst we have worked to assess and explore alternatives, based on the advice of our specialists we were required to remove the artwork from the station.
