LONDON.- Art on the Underground presents the 42nd pocket Tube map cover, Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish, by internationally renowned artist Ellen Gallagher.

Gallagher is known for creating multi-layered works that explore literature, mythology, racial identity, stereotypes and oceanic themes. For this new commission, she combines these interests with references to London's maritime past and the hidden histories beneath the city.

Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish expands on Gallagher's interest in colonial geographies and maritime mythology. Inspired by Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick and drawing parallels with whaling and triangular trades, Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish references Melville's story of Pip, a young black cabin boy who falls overboard. Gallagher imagines the underwater world Pip experiences, the skeletal form of a whale lying on the seabed forms the central composition and brings together themes of marine life, transatlantic history and memory.

For her pocket Tube map cover, Gallagher also drew inspiration from London's waterways, particularly the long-buried River Fleet and its many ancient wells. The names of wells such as Clerkenwell and Sadler's Wells mark the Fleet's hidden course through the city. In Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish, Gallagher visualises the hidden layer beneath London and connects them with the experience of travelling underground.





Reflecting on the Tube map itself, Gallagher was also inspired by Harry Beck's iconic 1933 design, which abstracts geography into a clear and navigable diagram. Gallagher's artwork suggests that much like the map, travelling through the Underground involves moving through unseen and liminal spaces. For Gallagher, liminal spaces are vital for holding a generosity towards one another in public space.

Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish invites us to reflect on the ways we navigate both the physical and historical geographies of London as we move through the Underground.

Available to collect from all London Underground stations.