For the 27th edition of the pocket Tube map, Art on the Underground has commissioned Marc Camille Chaimowicz (b. post-war France), who lives and works in London, to produce the cover artwork.
For the commission Chaimowicz has painted the cross section of an imagined interior room. A decorative wall of pastel violets and pinks, its pattern reminiscent of the Tube’s moquette fabric seating, is propped up by a large neon tangerine arch. The adjoining wall is a flurry of muddy yellow brushstrokes where a slim mint green ladder rests, a nod to the train tracks of the London Underground. Both walls sit atop a carpet of sage green, each component carefully staged. Densely detailed with each brushstroke visible, the sensation of materiality, domesticity and the personal is deeply prevalent against the backdrop of the mechanical London Underground where the pocket Tube maps are found.
Chaimowicz creates large-scale arrangements comprised of painting, sculpture and photography with prototypes for everyday interiors including wallpaper and furniture. Recurring motifs appear throughout his work including domestic objects and decorative patterns in his trademark pastel hue. Together they form a mise-en-scene of domestic space, each component steeped with cultural, literary and biographical references, to explore the space between public and private, applied and high art.
To coincide with the new cover commission Chaimowicz has designed a limited edition oyster wallet holder available for free in all seven visitor centres across Transport for London. These include at Liverpool Street, Victoria, King’s Cross and Paddington stations.
For more information and opening hours please visit https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/getting-around-london/visitor-centres
