Off The Map

For many, the 150th anniversary of the London Underground is as much as a celebration of its iconic design features as of the transport system itself. Graphic artist Thomas Wood has designed a series of posters that bring to life the history and secrets behind stations including Aldwych, British Museum and Down Street, revealing some of the distinctive aspects of their past lives.

Wood says, ‘At 18, I was looking out of the window on the Central Line and saw what looked like white tiles in the middle of the tunnel. I was fascinated to later discover this was the remnants of one of the many now disused stations, each with their own unique history.’

One design for British Museum station shows a glimpse of the classic platform tiling that can still be seen from passing trains, while another for Down Street in Mayfair illustrates its downfall as a result of low passenger numbers because of neighbouring stations.

There are about 40 disused stations on the Underground network, many with surface buildings remain visible at street level. Several empty stations are still used for filming, such as Charing Cross’ now-defunct Jubilee Line platforms for the recent James Bond film Skyfall.

Off The Map is available to view at http://offthemap-london.com/, and designs are available to purchase as posters, prints and greeting cards at http://www.redbubble.com/people/hellocali/portfolio