Mysterious Symbols in the London Underground: What the 272 Labyrinths Mean.

Mysterious Symbols at London Underground Stations

According to The Sun: Tourists in London have been struck by the unusual symbols that have appeared on the walls of hundreds of stations in the British Underground. These geometric drawings can be found at 272 stations, but you probably passed by them without much notice.

Discussion on Reddit

One of the tourists who visited London shared a photo of one of these drawings at the Piccadilly Circus station. In the image, black and white lines form a circle resembling a maze, and a red cross can be seen below.

“What is this?” asked the tourist, adding in the comments: “At first I thought it was an advertisement, so I ignored it.”

“Then I noticed similar drawings and began to view them with aesthetic interest.”

“Then I realized it was part of a series. But the random red cross at the bottom confused me.”

“If this is a riddle, then it seems too simple for the efforts and resources that must have gone into it; if it is art, then what is its message?”

His post received hundreds of comments from Reddit users, many of whom were also puzzled by these drawings.

“This is a map of the Bank Tube Station,” joked one user, hinting at the difficulties in finding an exit from the station.

“This is a QR code from 1896,” added another.

“Doesn’t look like anything, in my opinion,” chimed in another.

“This is an evacuation route,” suggested another discussion participant.

The Artistic Design of Labyrinth

However, some Londoners explained the matter, noting that these drawings are part of an art project from 2013 called Labyrinth. This project by British artist Mark Wallinger celebrates the 150th anniversary of the London Underground and includes 270 artworks, one for each Underground station at that time.

In 2023, new stations Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, which opened in 2021, joined the project. Thus, the total number of symbols increased to 272.

These new additions highlighted 160 years of the London Underground and 10 years since the installation of Labyrinth.

Each Labyrinth artwork is completely unique and is numbered according to the order of passage during the 2009 competition for the Guinness World Records Tube challenge. This competition has been ongoing since 1960, and its participants attempt to travel all the underground lines, passing through all stations in the shortest possible time.

Labyrinth is located near ticket offices, platforms, or in waiting areas.

This art project not only enriches the visual culture of the London Underground, but also offers new opportunities for discussion and interpretation among residents and tourists. The bright symbols encourage people to pay more attention to the surrounding art and make underground journeys even more interesting and filled with experiences.