- Venue
- London Transport Museum
- Location
- London
Having seen many exhibitions come and go at the London Transport Museum, I was initially intrigued to see how the work in this show would live up to the expectations of both the exhibition space and the strong sense of both London’s heritage and the future vision of transport in London which has now become to be expected at this Museum. My first thoughts were (now on reflection, rather naïve…) what is there to say about the river Thames? Is this just an opportunity to exploit London’s iconic landmarks? How will this translate to a younger audience? Well, let’s just say my questions were answered…
The first thing I was struck by on entering the space was the curator’s decision to keep each individual work framed to its own merits and style, rather than unifying them by colour or design. This allowed each artist to keep their voice, to strengthen their image and to allow a conversation to unfold organically from one piece to another. There was a real sense of unity amongst the works, which I wasn’t expecting initially, and naturally this must pay compliment to the strength of the final selection.
I’m jumping ahead a bit here without laying the basics, so I’ll step back and set the scene for you. The Prize for Illustration is organised annually by the London Transport Museum in collaboration with the Association of Illustrators, and is sponsored by the service provider Serco. This year the brief was to bring a theme of life around the River Thames “as an exciting and varied place for Londoners and visitors alike.” So, as you would expect, all 50 of the works on show (from over 400 submissions) feature varying aspects of the iconic architectural structures and buildings as well as nature and the buzzing flow of urban life along London’s estuary.
As with many Prize shows, the most significant debate that occurs isn’t who the prizewinners should be, but why they were selected over other often more ‘preferable’ works. Anne Wilson was selected as this year’s winner, with Winding through the City. A deserving winner, her quirky play on the longitudinal and lateral structures found along the river combined with striking colours and intimate monoprint details make it an image impossible to ignore. As favourable as it is, there are also many other works with just as much visual ‘kick’ which make us think not only about the layering of the composition but the techniques and sheer skill required of the artist to get the image to its final stage. Many of the illustrations were in a print format, whether it be screen, mono, inkjet or laser; but it was those that weren’t which proved that this show wasn’t what it said on the tin. Irene Blanco’s childlike paper and wax crayon drawing Blue seemed worlds apart from the likes of Freddy Boo’s the merry river yet it sat tall and proud as one of the most playful, striking designs in the whole show. Putting the theme aside, there were a number of works that attempt to question the relevance of the category itself – what defines an illustration? Both Sprawl by William Ings and blue/green thames by Anna Steinberg were forged chiefly from watercolour and pencil, and even seeing the fluid nature of the image firsthand one would be highly likely to see them as more of a painting than anything else. Though, no doubt it is all about appropriation…
Reflecting on the works I’ve seen, although almost all feature some of London’s iconic landmarks, it is not the fact that they even appeared but the creative path that each individual took to reach their composition which highlights the true talent amongst the exhibition. The multiple strands of style, approach, medium and theme which make up the 50 works allow the viewer to see this show not only in terms of a celebration of the history and iconography surrounding the River Thames and London itself; but a celebration of the diversity, strength, charisma and even attitude seen in each individual piece, which, to some people, is known as the voice of the artist.
