Mind the Art: Tube stations transformed into atmospheric paintings

"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."

"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."

"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."

The Guildhall Art Gallery hosts an immersive exhibition featuring large-scale paintings by Jock McFadyen depicting Tube stations, accompanied by ambient underground sounds composed by Jem Finer. The first half showcases misty, worn views of stations like Bank, where scraped-off advertisements create abstract patterns. One painting uniquely folds around a gallery corner, adding dimensionality. The second half transitions into brighter landscapes, beginning with Walthamstow Stadium and mixing London scenes with unusual combinations like Mount Blanc and Bethnal Green. The paintings emphasize man-made structures isolated in empty landscapes, creating an eerie, post-apocalyptic atmosphere through their emptiness and absence of people. The exhibition runs until September 20, 2026, and is free on a pay-what-you-can basis.

Read at ianVisits