An exhibition has been launched at London’s Waterloo railway station by Network Rail with the winners of the ‘Wish I was There’ Competition.

You may recall back in April we wrote about the competition which was setup asking art students to create art about placed they had missed visiting during the pandemic.

Pieces were submitted from around the country, with almost 270 entries of places around the UK including St Michael’s Mount (Cornwall), Lyme Regis (Dorset), Llandudno Promenade (Wales), Glenfinnan Viaduct (Scotland) and Bridlington (Yorkshire).

Entries were judged by a panel that included artist Jacqueline Colley, who teaches at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Of the entries made, 100 have been selected and will be exhibited across the railway network at major stations:-

• London Waterloo Station: 19 July – 1 August
• Reading Station: 2 – 8 August
• Liverpool Lime Street Station: 9 – 15 August
• Leeds Station: 16 – 22 August
• Glasgow Central Station: 23 – 29 August

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, chair of Network Rail, said: “The standard of art submitted has been beyond exceptional and reflects how much we have all missed travelling by rail. I thank all the artists who have taken the time to submit their work that has paid homage to the places that they have missed travelling to.

“The railway has a long history of creating works of art to promote the destinations that people can travel to by train, and the art submitted completely and utterly reflects that. This art will become a part of history, documenting what has been an unprecedented time for all of us.”

The top 20 winners were:

• Dina Aldrich – The Norfolk Coast and beyond
• Louise Allen – North Yorkshire coast
• Chris Bunn – Llandudno Promenade
• M A Chamberlain- Drumochter Pass, the highest point on the rail network
• Marlya Darr – Sandals and the Sea
• Esther Forse – Edinburgh
• Laura Hurn – Glenfinnan viaduct
• Jazz Lawrence – Canterbury Downs
• Nataliia Marchuk – Chester Sunset
• Emma McMillan – Edinburgh Castle
• Amandine Mondion – London is my cup of tea
• Elbo Parkes – Lyme Regis
• Claudia Elestabeta Prospescu – By the sea in Suffolk
• JJ Raines – Nothing like fresh lobster
• Shakiba Raiki – Welcome back to Chinatown
• Leah Risby – St Michael’s Mount
• Andrea Stables – The Lakes
• Ase Vikse – Dover
• Catlin Whitaker – The Tyne Bridge
• Abi Winter – The town of Britain

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