I visited the
London Transport Museum, drawn by the
Mind the Map exhibition, which turned out to be every bit the feast I'd hoped for. Combine a fascination with London, with the Underground, with maps and the infinite possibilities of transforming them into aesthetic and logical masterpieces, and you are in the dream exhibition.
For me my most inspiring discovery was my introduction to the maps of
MacDonald Gill, who for the first part of the 1900s created illustrative maps of London and the tube, blending geography, humour and great colour schemes.
There was also a thrilling range of pieces commissioned for the exhibition. To pick out one favourite, I should land on
Claire Brewster, who made paper cuts from tube maps to bring together her journey from the countryside to the city.
Finally, I made a great connection in the workings of my mind when I saw
Susan Stockwell's
map of the world made from a montage of travel tickets. Somehow I had never realised that my love of the London transport network could be connected to my fascination with figuring out the public transport networks in the countries I visit overseas.