Tunnel Works

William T. Schmitt
“Cat in a field”
Oil paint on concrete

Izaak Lubin
“Dog and yellow flowers”
Acrylic, gouache, and oil paint on concrete

<sup>Spaces like this are littered throughout almost every city, acting as a thoroughfare for

workers during construction, and furthermore for maintenance workers after construction

is completed. Though seldom used, they act better as a space for dust collection and for

echoes to form. You are reminded quite quickly in these spaces that beauty is completely

futile, and they truly act for function.

The walls are caked in dust and soot blown in from nearby factory and freight operations,

mixed with exhaust and brake residue from the traffic above and below. The space carries a

thick, industrial smell.

As cars pass over on the road above, a deep, bass-filled boom echoes throughout the

cavity. At first it is confronting, but with time this settles into something almost normal.

With a head torch equipped you can only see in a straight line in front of you, with a black

abyss engulfing everything else around you. The only respite is the faint light coming

through the joins in the bridge every 30 or so meters. These joins are no bigger than 25cm

wide and are covered with a layer of mesh to keep any local wildlife out, solidifying how

lifeless this chamber is.

With an approach similar to that of traditional graffiti, letters stylised on a wall leaving a

mark “I was here”, this has a similar motive. It offers any workers, maintenance people, or

other curious passers-by, a gift upon their arrival, turning a dull forgotten void, into a gallery

at the same time.

The naive and almost juvenile style of paintings is a deliberate commentary on a space that

feels haunting and uninhabitable, creating a sense of welcome and lightheartedness in a

joyless chamber. Painted directly onto the concrete wall, they are left to age with the tunnel

and eventually be coated in a new layer of dust.</sup>

^{77pp publication
Published by Chemical Symphony}