COMMISSIONS

DESIGN WORK LEISURE, Art on the Underground, London, 2015 - 2017

DESIGN WORK LEISURE, Logo Tile
Photography: Benedict Johnson, 2016

Giles Round, DESIGN WORK LEISURE, Blackhorse Road, London
Photography: Thierry Bal, 2016

Giles Round, DESIGN WORK LEISURE, Vauxhall Station, London
Photography: Benedict Johnson, 2017

Giles Round, DESIGN WORK LEISURE, Victoria Station, London
Photography: Thierry Bal, 2019

Art on the Underground is pleased to announce a new series of permanent artworks devised by Design Work Leisure (DWL) installed at Blackhorse Road, Victoria and Vauxhall stations between 2015 – 2017.

Design Work Leisure (DWL) is a design office established by artist Giles Round in 2015 as part of Underline a series of art commissions for the Victoria line. DWL revisits the values and vision of Arts & Crafts exponent William Morris who believed that great art should be for everybody. The project also celebrates the legacy of Frank Pick, managing director of London Underground in the early 20th century who commissioned many of the great design tropes of London Underground including the Johnston typeface and Harry Beck’s Tube map.

Drawing on the belief that good design leads to a better society, Round’s office launched in Summer 2015 with a design directive for the Victoria line. Distributed for free in every Underground station, the Directive outlined DWL’s design aims and objectives for producing functional yet quality crafted objects for use in the network. Over the 12-month period of the project, Design Work Leisure built on London Underground’s rich design heritage to devise, research and develop bespoke products for the physical environment of the network, for staff and passengers to enjoy.

DWL’s designs utilised historical models of production, working with London Underground manufacturers A. J. Wells and Craven Dunnill Jackfield. In doing so the project provides a critical lens to examine contemporary aesthetics and the hierarchies between applied and fine arts.

Commissioned as part of the Underline series by Art on the Underground.

http://art.tfl.gov.uk/giles-round
http://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/design-work-leisure

PRESS: PDF