Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Art on the Underground programme has launched its 42nd pocket Tube map cover, by internationally renowned artist Ellen Gallagher. Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish draws on London’s maritime past and the hidden histories beneath the city, inviting passengers to reflect on how they move through physical and historical space.
Gallagher is known for creating layered works that explore literature, mythology, racial identity, stereotypes, and oceanic themes. For this new commission for Art on the Underground, she combines these interests with references to literature and London’s geography.
Inspired by Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick and drawing parallels with whaling and the triangular trade, Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish references Melville’s story of Pip, a young Black cabin boy who falls overboard. Gallagher imagines the underwater world Pip experiences, the skeletal form of a whale lying on the seabed forms the central composition and brings together themes of marine life, transatlantic history, and memory.
Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish also draws inspiration from London’s own waterways, particularly the long-buried River Fleet. By referencing historic wells such as Clerkenwell and Sadler’s Wells, which mark the Fleet’s course through the city, Gallagher visualises the hidden layers beneath London and connects them with the experience of travelling underground.
Reflecting on the Tube map itself, Gallagher was also inspired by Harry Beck’s iconic 1933 design, which abstracts geography into a clear and navigable diagram. Gallagher’s artwork suggests that much like the map, travelling through the Underground involves moving through unseen and liminal spaces.
Eleanor Pinfield, head of Art on the Underground, said: “Gallagher’s Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish is an enthralling reflection on London, layering the city’s subterranean rivers against a wider oceanic backdrop. With literary references from Moby Dick and influenced by the classic London Underground map design from Harry Beck, this new artwork reflects the city back to millions of people who travel on TfL services each day.”
Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish encourages customers to consider how journeys across London connect with its deeper histories, and how public space can offer moments for reflection and shared experience.
This project has been supported by Art Fund.
Image credit: TfL / Ellen Gallagher
