Samara Scott depicts night-time detritus for Art on the Underground’s Night Tube series

Artist Samara Scott has created the first artwork in a new Art on the Underground commission series for the Night Tube pocket map. The artist – known for her pools of water filled with the detritus of modern culture – has created a photographic collage of night-time-inspired items in cross-section, suspended in way that makes them seem otherworldly.

The items include cut electrical cables, batteries, an open lipstick, a felt tip pen, a bike light, a screw, a USB and a squeezed lemon, which were captured on a domestic scanner. True to Samara’s raw approach, the sweeping purple background was apparently created by shining a light on to an Ikea bag, while the dust on the scanner surface was left to add depth and movement to the image. Much like her existing work, it uses everyday products that surround our lives, depicted as simultaneously grotesque and beautiful.

The map will be released tomorrow (Thursday 15 December) with a special edition print also available. It coincides with the launch of the 24-hour Piccadilly line.

Kiera Blakey, curator for Art on the Underground, says the new series is “a brilliant opportunity to support early career London-based artists, providing them with the opportunity to make work for our vast audience across the city. Samara made this work specifically for the pocket map format, thinking carefully about scale, function and distribution. That’s why the piece works so well in this medium”.