Tube station upgrade unveils ancient artwork

Date: 6/10/2011

An art installation has been unveiled at Green Park Station, which is currently undergoing an upgrade.

Transport for London (TfL) reports that the piece was created by sculptor and Royal Academician John Maine, who used a 150 million-year-old stone from the Isle of Portland in Dorset to craft a surface that is covered in fossils for Green Park's new side buildings.

Mr Maine was commissioned to carry out the work by the Art on the Underground project and he continued the prehistoric theme by coming up with spiral designs inspired by fossils to appear in the paving outside the station entrance.

TfL claims that the installation is an integral component of the upgrade, which is set to be completed ahead of next summer's Olympic Games.

Other work to have been carried out includes the addition of a new ramp-accessed entrance, three lifts and a canopy and staircase linked to the ticket hall.

Tamsin Dillon, Head of Art on the Underground, said: "John has been involved in the look and feel of the station from the beginning of design, with everything down to the curve of the walls and the mouldings of the balustrades being part of his concept."

South Kensington Underground Station is also set to be redeveloped, with passengers being invited to share their views on the plans ahead of the public consultation, which closes on October 7th.

Posted by Mary Treen