{"id":675362,"date":"2026-01-05T12:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/675362\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T12:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:12:14","slug":"immersive-exhibition-exploring-sensory-world-of-londons-tube-created-by-jock-mcfadyen-ra-and-jem-finer-of-the-pogues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/675362\/","title":{"rendered":"Immersive exhibition exploring sensory world of London\u2019s Tube created by Jock McFadyen RA and Jem Finer of The Pogues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jock McFadyen revisits 1990s <\/strong>Underground<\/strong> series for gallery\u2019s show<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cityscapes and Tube stations feature in immersive exhibition at City gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recordings of Tube lines transform artworks into \u201cliving, breathing organisms\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Huge paintings of London cityscapes and Tube stations, and layered recordings of the lines\u2019 creaks, groans, and grinding of rails will immerse visitors to Guildhall Art Gallery\u2019s forthcoming exhibition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opening on 27 February at the City Corporation\u2019s gallery, Jock McFadyen and Jem Finer: Underground (and Surface)<\/strong> <\/strong>brings together the Paisley-born Royal Academician and the founding member of The Pogues, whose songwriting credits include Fiesta, The Sunny Side of the Street, and Fairytale of New York.<\/p>\n

Jock McFadyen and Jem Finer: Underground (and Surface)<\/strong> revisits McFadyen\u2019s series, Underground, which was first conceived in the late 1990s and is now reimagined for this unique collaboration with Finer, which has been co-curated by the City Corporation\u2019s Head of Guildhall Art Gallery, Elizabeth Scott.<\/p>\n

In McFadyen\u2019s works, such as Bank and Ghost, familiar Underground signs and structures dissolve and create a tension between recognition and disorientation. In contrast, expansive cityscapes offer a counterpoint to the shadowed subway interiors, with works, such as Popular Enclosure, featuring cool and serene views of London with radiant blue skies. Each work is connected site-specifically to its respective Tube station.<\/p>\n

Transforming the underground city in McFadyen\u2019s paintings into a living, breathing organism, Finer\u2019s field recordings of the Northern line and Central line are mechanical and melodic, punctuated by a range of common, but hard-to-place, urban noises – the creaks, groans, and pips that accompany commuters.<\/p>\n

Chairman of the City of London Corporation\u2019s Culture, Heritage, and Libraries, Brendan Barns, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJock McFadyen\u2019s consummate skill in presenting epic views of the capital which, at the same time, convey a sense of intimacy, as well as beauty and decay, are sure to engage and impress visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding Jem Finer\u2019s atmospheric soundscapes from the Tube network to the mix is particularly intriguing, and it will undoubtedly make for a very memorable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jock McFadyen said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us descend daily into the tunnels and carriages that offer rapid access to distant parts of our urban world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We see and hear a remarkable variety of things there, but how often do we pay attention to the graffiti-daubed exteriors, the rails, pipes, struts, and wires that adorn the surface of the spaces through which we pass? How often do we really listen to all the mysterious mechanical and organic sounds that emanate from the subterranean caverns that house our public transport?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m honoured that Jem has contributed such a beautiful soundtrack to my Underground series, one that is far superior to my original idea of a simple raw recording of closing doors, announcements, and the rattling and grinding of rails. It is a wonderful haunting piece, which seems to unfold with new sounds every time I hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jem Finer said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI hoped to find a resonance with Jock\u2019s paintings where the figurative dissolves into abstraction. I remembered him writing \u201cAll paintings are abstract. The subject of all my paintings is the paint\u201d. I feel the same way about sound\u2026 about it being the focus of composing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the form is important, but the sound is the true subject. I started to flip Jock\u2019s thinking and work with the sounds I\u2019d recorded in the way that he might work with paint, transformed just far enough that there remains a trace of familiarity while becoming something unexpected, newly discovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the success of a flexible \u2018Pay What You Can\u2019 admission charge for three of the gallery\u2019s previous exhibitions, it will be applicable for Jock McFadyen and Jem Finer: Underground (and Surface)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Guildhall Art Gallery is an integral part of the City\u2019s rich and vibrant arts and cultural offering. The gallery supports the City of London Corporation\u2019s growth strategy, Destination City, which seeks to make the Square Mile a place where people want to live, learn, work, and explore.<\/p>\n

The City of London Corporation is one of the largest funders of heritage and cultural activities in the UK and invests over \u00a3130m every year.<\/p>\n

The organisation manages a range of world-class cultural and heritage institutions, including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Library, Guildhall Art Gallery, The London Archives, and Keats House. It also supports the London Symphony Orchestra and London Museum, which will open this year.<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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