London awaits spring with new pocket tube map

As the final art commission of London Underground's 150th anniversary year, the new edition of the pocket tube map released this month featured colorful flora on its cover.

The new cover, designed by Imran Qureshi, was entitled All Time Would be Perpetual Spring.

Qureshi lives in Lahore, Pakistan, where he teaches at the National College of Art. In his paintings and installations, he combines the centuries-old Islamic art form of miniature painting with conceptual approaches and elements of contemporary abstract painting.

For the cover picture, the artist has employed the technique of traditional Mughalminiature painting from his native country to present an intricate floral design for each line on the network, inspired by their distinct colors.

"I was inspired by a life, an activity, and an amazing energy going on hundreds of feet down below the ground," he said. "Each color represents life, colorful flora which are growing and creating a completely new atmosphere and a positive energy."

The pocket tube map is possibly one of the most widely viewed art commissions in the world, with around 12 million copies of each edition distributed throughout the London tube network.

Head of Art on the Underground, Tamsin Dillon, said: "Qureshi has made a fantastic work for the new pocket Tube map; I love the way it references the actual London Underground map with its vibrant colors inspired by the various Tube lines."

Since 2004, Art on the Underground has commissioned 18 previous tube map covers from leading contemporary artists. The first artist was Emma Kay, whose picture resembled a target with many rings of different colors.

Other famous artists included Eva Rothschild whose design was a ring made up of the Tube line colors, Yayoi Kusama with her iconic dots, and David Shrigley with dashing scribble lines.

An impressive cover was by Michael Landy, who interpreted the function of tube lines with the creases and lines of his own hand. During the Olympics and Paralympics, the pocket tube map cover was designed by Tracey Emin, which showed a scrawled bird resting on a branch growing from the Central Line.

"This format has proved to be a challenging and inspiring way for 19 artists so far to respond to the Tube and it works really well amongst the range of ways that people can access travel information on the Underground," said Dillon.

London boasts the oldest underground line in the world, which was opened in 1863. The Underground now serves more than 270 stations, carrying 1.2 billion passengers a year.