An old bank next to Piccadilly Circus currently has a graffiti-covered tube train up on the first floor, and it’s freely open to visit.
As it happens, it’s a fake tube station, housed in a fake tube station.
It’s also the temporary home to an exhibition of graffiti street art of the sort that can repel as much as it attracts — the sort you tend to see on the sides of railways and, at times, on trains themselves.
The exhibition features three graffiti artists, 10Foot, Tox, and Fume, and is a mix of works, where they have transitioned, for the purposes of this exhibition, into artists selling art you can buy to hang on the wall.
Not that they have abandoned their origins, as there are some witty works here that clearly show their London Underground leanings, from the distorted roundels to the old posters that have been reimagined.
Elsewhere, road signs are the topic of choice, with some amusing additions and redesigns playing with you.
Not all of the prints are for sale — as some are what’s left over after the police sized the rest. Some are also interestingly made using tube train soot collected from the railway.
I have a challenging relationship with this genre of art, as I can appreciate the artistry at work, if not the way it’s executed. And if my wallet were as big as my eyes, a couple of pieces would now be in my flat.
Even if you don’t like the artistic style, they’ve designed the exhibition excellently, as the entrance really does look like an ever so slightly distorted Piccadilly Circus tube station.
The exhibition, Long Dark Tunnel is at Arts Arkade on Piccadilly Circus (opposite Lillywhites) until 12th April.
It’s open Wed to Sun from 1pm to 7pm and is free to visit.
There’s also a related Big Issue takeover tied in with the exhibition.
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