A thought-provoking new artwork that celebrates the vibrant culture of Soho has launched at Tottenham Court Road station.
undergroundoverheard by Douglas Gordon is one of several artworks commissioned by Crossrail Art Programme and sits alongside works including Chantal Joffe’s A Sunday Afternoon in Whitechapel at Whitechapel station and Conrad Shawcross’ Manifold (Major Third) 5:4 at Liverpool Street station.
Situated in the Dean Street entrance to the Elizabeth line at Tottenham Court Road station, Gordon’s new artwork comprises a video on a large screen seen by thousands of customers each day as they descend the escalators to the platforms.
The looped video builds on Gordon’s renowned text-based artworks that use short statements to make the viewer or listener speculate, including “I forgive you,” “Nothing will ever be the same” and “It’s better to know.” Undergroundoverheard puts these texts into video format for the first time, with translations into many of the most spoken languages of the people who make London the dynamic, multicultural city that it is, reflecting the vibrancy of Soho and the international audiences that pass through the area on the Elizabeth line.
The texts appear and disappear on the screen, travelling through the space from top to bottom and side to side, reflecting the transience of people travelling. Conceived from the late 1980s through to the present, the deceptively simple yet emotionally charged statements were previously installed onto architecture such as museum walls or communicated via mail and telephone.
Eleanor Pinfield, head of srt on the Underground at TfL, said: “The launch of undergroundoverheard marks a major moment for Douglas Gordon, with his text works compiled into a dynamic video artwork for the first time. It is an exciting moment for Tottenham Court Road station, with an artwork that celebrates the breadth of global cultures in the area the station serves. These cryptic, open-ended statements will make customers from all backgrounds pause for thought, taking them on a reflective, thoughtful journey in their minds as they travel on the renowned Elizabeth line.”
Infinite Accumulation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will be the final piece of the Crossrail Art Programme, set to be installed later this year outside the Elizabeth line Liverpool Street station eastern ticket hall at Broadgate.