Op-Art Mural, Leake Street, London, 2017
Waterloo Paint Jam
In the summer of 2017, Mark was invited to take part in a paint jam at Leake Street, the legal graffiti tunnel beneath Waterloo station in London. Rather than matching the illustrative styles filling the tunnel that day, he painted a high-contrast op-art mural designed to stand apart through geometry alone.
The Jam
Mark was invited to take part in a paint jam at Leake Street, the legal graffiti tunnel beneath Waterloo station in London. The event brought together multiple artists working simultaneously within the same shared public space, each claiming a section of wall for the day.
Leake Street is painted over constantly, by design. Work made there is understood to be temporary from the moment the first line goes down.
The Decision
Rather than responding directly to the illustrative characters and lettering filling the tunnel that day, Mark chose to develop a bold op-art mural that deliberately contrasted with the surrounding work. Using high-contrast geometry and optical rhythm, the piece focused on perception, movement and visual disruption rather than illustration or narrative.
Working against the dominant visual language of the event meant the mural stood apart within the space, drawing attention from passers-by and other artists precisely because it looked like nothing else on the wall.
The Mural
The piece is built from a repeating checkerboard, overlaid with a diamond grid of dots that bends and warps across the surface. Up close, the pattern reads as pure geometry. From further back, the overlapping grids create a rippling, almost three-dimensional distortion.
Positioned beneath a busy transport hub, the mural engaged with constant movement and flow, using optical tension to interrupt and momentarily hold the viewer’s attention.
Leake Street
The tunnel sits a few minutes from Waterloo station and the London Eye, and functions as a working gallery for anyone with a can of paint. Layers of other artists’ work surround every piece, sprayed over and added to within days or hours.
Shown within that setting, difference and formal clarity operate as their own kind of loud, even among far busier and more colourful work.
Commission a Similar Project
I take on a small number of public and site-specific mural commissions each year, working directly with community groups, transport operators, councils and businesses who need a piece designed to work at scale and from a distance, primarily across Manchester, the Peak District and the wider North West.
If you are planning a wall, a building, or a public space that needs a landmark rather than a decoration, I would like to hear about it early, while the brief is still open.
Get in touch about a commission →
Questions
What was the Waterloo Paint Jam?
A collective painting event at Leake Street, the legal graffiti tunnel beneath Waterloo station in London, where Mark was invited to paint alongside multiple other artists in the summer of 2017.
Why is it called an op-art mural?
The piece uses a checkerboard pattern overlaid with a warped diamond grid, a high-contrast geometric technique known as op-art, designed to create movement and optical tension rather than illustrate a scene or character.
Why did Mark paint something so different from the rest of the tunnel?
The tunnel that day was filled with illustrative characters and lettering, so Mark chose geometry and restraint instead, a deliberate contrast that made the piece stand apart.
Is the mural still at Leake Street?
No. Leake Street is painted over constantly, and this piece has long since been covered by newer work, as is normal for that tunnel.
Where exactly is Leake Street?
A tunnel beneath Waterloo station in London, a few minutes from the London Eye, known as a legal spot for graffiti and street art.
Can Moderate Studio design a mural for a public or transport site?
Yes. Moderate Studio takes on a small number of public and site-specific mural commissions each year, working with community groups, transport operators, councils and businesses.
From the Journal
In the Tunnel
A dated entry from the Leake Street paint jam.
Selected Work