View Subterranea 7: Arsenal

Description

One of a series of original wood engravings exploring the dynamic atmosphere and distinctive architecture of the London Underground. This piece depicts a rat’s eye view of Arsenal Station on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground. The foreground is dominated by the distinctive truncated domes of the platform’s tactile strip. This is the only Tube station to be named after a football club. However, until 1932 the station was called Gillespie Road, and the original wall tiling – represented in this piece – still bears the original name. As a former Tube commuter, the artist was conscious that – packed full of busy travellers every day – the Underground can very easily be taken for granted. By choosing unusual angles and perspectives of near-deserted stations, her aim in this series of artworks is to help the viewer to rediscover and better appreciate these incredible subterranean man-made structures. Rebecca received the Highly Commended Drawing Prize for this work from the Society of Graphic Fine Art in October 2015. Note: Actual image size is 18×13 cm. Hand-printed on a larger sheet of paper with margins of at least 5cm on all sides, to allow for mounting and framing.