Passengers on the Victoria Line, the only wholly subterranean line on the London Underground network that opened in 1969, will soon be able to watch films by the Turner prize-nominated artist Liam Gillick on their daily commute. Art on the Underground, the official art programme for Transport for London, announced today, 29 June, a year-long series of events entitled Underline, the first series of artists' commissions on the Victoria Line.
Eleanor Pinfield, the head of Art on the Underground, says that “Gillick has taken his camera, picking out features of the Victoria Line in an unfolding narrative”. The works will be screened this autumn at stations along the line, from Walthamstow Central to Brixton.
Next summer, the French artist Zineb Sedira will unveil a film piece that draws upon the connections between the Victoria line and the city’s natural networks, including water sources. Seven Sisters tube station will be transformed by the London-based architectural collective Assemble.
Meanwhile, the UK artist Giles Round will, through his Design Work Leisure initiative, devise and develop bespoke products and objects for the Victoria line system over the next year. “Part research facility and part lobby for change, Design Work Leisure aims to place functional objects into the Victoria line network,” the organisers say.
These prototypes could include a new design for a platform clock or staff cutlery. A limited edition Oyster card wallet designed by Round will be distributed at every Victoria Line station tomorrow, 30 June.
All of the commissions are inspired by the Arts & Crafts pioneer William Morris (a former resident of Walthamstow). Core funding for the project comes from Transport for London, while Arts Council England supports the public engagement programme.