The London Underground has decided to celebrate its 150th birthday by throwing an artsy party via the Labyrinth Project. But unlike traditional celebratory get togethers, this one's here to stay. The Labyrinth Project is a permanent art installation that will grace tube stations across London.
Created by artist Mark Wallinger, the Labyrinth Project is made up of 270 black and white enamel artworks. These artworks revolve around different labyrinth designs, hence the name of the installation. Each of the 270 artworks have been numbered according to the route taken on the 2009 record breaking Tube Challenge, which is what the Guinness Book of Records called the attempt to visit every station in the fastest possible time.
The Labyrinth Project was inspired by the standard tube maps, which were designed by Harry Beck.
What's Driving This Trend
- Permanent Public Art Installations
- Other public spaces may leverage permanent installations that celebrate important milestones to improve the aesthetics of spaces.
- Art Inspired by Geographic Features
- New art projects can take inspiration from other man-made or natural geographic features to celebrate their uniqueness.
- Art Tourism
- Locations that have invested in adding publicly accessible art installations may attract tourists who are interested in that aspect of the culture.
Who This Affects Most
- Transportation
- Transportation companies may collaborate with local artists to celebrate the culture and history in unique ways.
- Art and Design
- Art and design companies may see an opportunity to partner with transportation companies to create unique installations that celebrate the community within which the transportation infrastructure operates.
- Tourism
- Tourist companies may take advantage of the rising trend of art tourism to showcase public art installations in cities.
