Piccadilly’s Peccadilloes

Piccadilly’s Peccadilloes is a portfolio of images produced by renowned photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg. The images detail the front of twelve classic London Underground stations designed by Charles Holden. Each image focuses on the Underground’s iconic Johnston font, reflected in wet pavement surfaces. The subtle changes in surface and architectural structure that frame the fragmented texts allow the visitor to absorb the essence of Holden’s designs.

Piccadilly’s Peccadilloes continue Blees Luxemburg’s distinctive style, presenting a hauntingly beautiful impression of some of London’s most familiar landmarks. The densely detailed, richly textured glimpses of the buildings have been displayed in a complete circuit around the London Underground ticket hall at Heathrow Terminal 4 station, establishing a gateway through which to enter and leave the city.

Commissioned specially for Heathrow Terminal 4 Tube station, the works were part of Thin Cities – a series of artworks that celebrated 100 years of the Piccadilly line.

About the artist
Rut Blees Luxemburg is a German photographer, based in London. She investigates the urban, metropolitan landscape and its effect on the human condition.

Her work ranges from large-scale photographic prints, through public art works and operatic mise-en-scène. She mainly photographs at night, using long exposures which allow her to use the ambient light of the city . Her poetic images are recognisable through their contemplative, considered and atmospheric tone.

Blees Luxemburg initially studied Political Science in Germany and moved to London to study photography at London College of Communication and then University of Westminster. She is a Reader in Urban Aesthetics at the Royal College of Art. She has exhibited internationally and her work is in major collections across Europe.

Commmissioned by Art on the Underground