AOI, London Stories, poster competition
This poster was shortlisted for the poster competition by the AOI and presented at the London Museum of Transport in 2019
The original brief was to make illustrations about London, specifically stories that have taken place in London. Big or small, current or historic.
My submission was called: When the Elgin Marbles Moved Into the Tube
When the Elgin Marbles Moved Into the Tube
My idea to depict this particular moment in London history started with my interest in how people in my city, Florence, Italy, protected the plethora of marble sculptures in World War II. In the Accademia, the museum which houses the David by Michelangelo, conservators bundled up the sculptures in hive-like cocoons where they remained safe throughout the war.
London have it's own fair share of delicate and extremely important marble pieces, I figured there must be an interesting story there. Here's what I found out:
"On Friday 2nd September 1948 two lorries carried 100 tonnes of Elgin Marbles to Lillie Bridge depot in Kensington. From there the Marbles were transported by railway wagon to a disused tunnel at Aldwych.
...It is undoubtedly a good thing that the Marbles spent the war hidden away in the underground, for the British Museum suffered considerable bomb damage, including the Duveen Gallery where the Marbles had been exhibited before their evacuation."
-Paul Cunliffe at paulcunliffe.wordpress.com
Photos from Wikipedia
Fun Detail
I love vintage posters, and during the WWII era there were so many examples of propaganda posters from every country including England. Here are just a few that I had to include in the illustration.
The Show
Some images from the opening and an article about it
