A series of large-scale paintings depicting Tube stations, paired with the ambient sounds of the Underground, are on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery, creating an immersive plunge into the depths of London’s transport network.
The paintings are by Jock McFadyen, accompanied by an ambient underground soundtrack by Jem Finer.
One of the paintings is of Bank tube station, showing an advertising space that had the adverts scraped off, leaving behind almost abstract art in their wake. Many of the other paintings echo this feeling, offering misty, slightly unfocused views of stations that resemble those battered poster frames — familiar, worn, and oddly beautiful.
A small touch, but I quite liked how one painting folds around the corner of the gallery – quite a rare effect where paintings are almost always two-dimensional.
The Underground scenes make up roughly half of the exhibition. The rest is displayed in a brighter adjoining room — almost as if you’re emerging from the tunnels into daylight — and features the artist’s landscapes instead.
Opening with a huge painting of the old Walthamstow Stadium, the second half is a mix of London landscapes and one rather odd but interesting combination of Mount Blanc and Bethnal Green.
What gives the paintings their interest is often the views chosen: man-made structures in seemingly empty landscapes – monoliths of concrete surrounded by scrubland.
Possibly, the combination of emptiness in the paintings and the lack of people creates a slight eeriness, as if looking at post-apocalyptic survivors in a blasted landscape.
Tube enthusiasts and fans of industrial landscapes will find plenty to enjoy here.
The exhibition, Underground (and Surface) Exhibition, is at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London until 20th September 2026. It’s free to visit on a pay-what-you-can basis.
It’s open daily from 10am to 5pm, and is a short walk from Moorgate, Bank and St Paul’s tube stations.
