A thought-provoking new artwork that celebrates the vibrant culture of Soho will launch on 1 February at Tottenham Court Road station. The artwork, by award-winning artist Douglas Gordon, will be presented by Transport for London (TfL) and sponsors Almacantar, the City of London Corporation and Derwent London.
Gordon’s undergroundoverheard is one of several artworks commissioned by Crossrail Art Programme for the Elizabeth line, the largest collaborative public art commissioning process in a generation. It will sit 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.
The public commission will be unveiled alongside a new solo exhibition of the artist’s work near the station at Gagosian gallery, Grosvenor Hill, London. All I need is a little bit of everything features numerous text works, many also translated for the first time into multiple languages, and the encyclopaedic installation Pretty much every film and video work from about 1992 until now… (1999–).
Undergroundoverheard is lead-funded by property development company Almacantar and the City of London Corporation, and co-funded by property investment and development business Derwent London.
Following the opening of the Elizabeth line, care of the artworks was transferred to TfL’s Art on the Underground team.
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “Douglas Gordon’s undergroundoverheard is a wonderful addition to the Elizabeth line. Translated into different languages, it celebrates our capital’s greatest strength – our diversity. This programme, alongside Art on the Underground, delivers amazing creative works to the travelling public every day, bringing us joy, encouraging us to stop and think and making art accessible to all, helping us build a better London for everyone.”
Eleanor Pinfield, Head of Art 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.”
