Overlooked 2.0 by Marina Willer

Overlooked is a celebration of London’s street covers and their often intricate designs despite the industrial nature of those objects. Found across the city from Brixton to Kensington, and north London these humble objects are the gatekeepers to a mysterious underground world. Many of the covers were installed by 19th and early 20th century utility companies who provided London residents with new services such as water and sewage, gas and electricity, telegraph and telephones through a network of subterranean tunnels. Overlooked 2.0 follows on from the original series, using the 19th century practice of taking rubbings of religious icons. This gives a detailed negative image of the original object, which is then screen printed in layers using fluorescent inks. Dan Mather will be screenprinting the collection by hand in his studio in Yorkshire. For over a decade Dan has crafted his artistic practice, specialising in collaborating to produce limited-edition, fine art, original silkscreen prints, traditionally by hand for designers, brands and artists internationally, including Harry Pearce, Matt Willey, Louisa Parris, Fedrigoni, The National Gallery and British Museum. The neon-coloured rubbings depict these metal lids as impeccable pieces of industrial design, threaded throughout the functional fabric of a city. By applying such vibrant combinations of colours the series celebrates the decorative nature of these objects and patterns despite their industrial nature and functionality. Marina and her team scoured the city streets to find the best examples of these fascinating objects. Most of the iron street covers show the name of the foundry where they were cast. 20 new limited edition B1 silkscreen prints will be available to purchase at the exhibition. The new series is even more vibrant and diverse than the original, covering many areas across London. A reminder that a city’s beauty isn’t limited to art galleries or grand architecture, and that intricate design is everywhere if we just look for it. The original series is now part of the V&A collection.