Rejected Tube Map Cover Illustration

This was the first idea proposed by Jeremy Deller after he was commissioned by TfL to design the cover of an edition of the London Underground map, distributed free of charge in all stations. The proposed design initially featured a bicycle, composed of the colors representing the different lines on the Tube map.
It was rejected, as it conveyed a message that could – according to the commissioner – confuse some users of the London Underground service, since bicycle access was not permitted on all lines.

The commissioner was TfL – Transport for London, the authority responsible for transportation in the London area – within the framework of the Art on the Underground project, which invites contemporary artists to create both temporary and permanent works for the London Underground environment. Jeremy Deller then designed the cover of the Tube map together with artist Paul Ryan. The work, presented on July 1, 2007, is still visible at http://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/detail/1119/.
It consists of a portrait of John Hough, who was then the longest-serving member of TfL staff.

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