Featured in The Art Newspaper
Zadie Xa, Hong Kong star, goes underground in London A public commission on Aldgate East station
23 March 2023
Aldgate East Underground station, London
Zadie Xa is having a moment. At Art Basel Hong Kong, two of Xa’s works were snapped up at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery who recently signed up the Canadian-Korean artist. The fetching pieces, both made of recycled leather and assorted shell buttons, were priced at £22,000 each. But Xa is not just making waves in Hong Kong. She has just unveiled a major public art piece on the London Underground, presenting a mural at the eastern end of Aldgate East station near Whitechapel Gallery. The eye-popping work is inspired by the mythical griffin, which was used as an official symbol by London Transport (Tfl) from 1933 until the late 1950s. The two-part piece comprises Griffin and Guardian which reimagines the TfL griffin as a seagull and fox hybrid; the second part, Underworlds Connect, shows (wait for it) a three-eyed wide tiger stepping out of a conch shell. Commuters will be delighted.
