When you have a paintbrush in your hand, you should theoretically be in control of the paint. However, sometimes the paint controls you. Oils run, bleed, blend, move, and smudge as a result of natural elements such as gravity and temperature. When you ride the New York City subway, you also experience the natural elements of gravity, movement, and temperature in a different but equally as extreme way. 

The Places We Ignore is designed to call attention to the little things we pass by every day and pay no attention to. The subway system is not often regarded as beautiful, but rather dark and dingy. As a whole, the experience may be accurate for some but, when you examine individual elements of the system, there is great beauty, symmetry, color, and craftsmanship. While each station has the same essential elements—a platform—tiled walls, and rushing trains, they each have their own quirks. The message of “caution” is conveyed by a series of red and yellow lines but they vary in width, texture, color, intensity, and movement. 

Tiled walls help to differentiate the stations through mosaics and molding, but the real beauty is how each tile reflects the light of oncoming trains. Curving of the walls causes sound and light to bounce in new directions creating a unique experience at every station. The Places We Ignore attempts to capture these moments of individuality and creative beauty. Take a moment to look up, down, and most importantly straight ahead next time you ride the train and take in the colors, lines, and sparkle of the experience.