Tate Modern Level 10 Art and Cake

Print description

At the top of Tate Modern, on Level 10 of the Blavatnik Building, it is currently referred to simply as the Level 10 café. Two friends take a break with cake, coffee and a little bit of art between them.

Looking across London, St Paul’s Cathedral rises from the city beyond the terrace railings. The scene is an ordinary moment of friendship and conversation, but also a small celebration of being surrounded by art, architecture and the changing London skyline.

I love creating monochrome drawings. For this piece, I wanted to give the original linework centre stage while introducing a little warmth through colour. I selected just three colours, echoing the simplicity of Japanese printmaking or early colour lithography.

The patterns in the clothing echoes two works at the Tate:

Untitled by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, 1976

A geometric composition of mirrored forms and precise lines, balancing light, reflection and repetition. Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian transforms traditional Persian ornament into a striking modern abstraction.

Pathway by Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, 2018

A richly textured abstract work that evokes a pathway through shifting forms, colours and natural patterns. Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín brings together contemporary abstraction with the visual language and traditions of his Mayan heritage.

Today, Tate Modern is one of the world’s leading museums of modern and contemporary art, housed in the former Bankside Power Station on London’s South Bank. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the power station opened in the 1960s and closed in 1981. It was transformed by Herzog & de Meuron and reopened as Tate Modern in 2000, retaining its vast industrial character, including the famous Turbine Hall.

The great dome of St Paul’s Cathedral is one of London’s most recognisable architectural features. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it rises 111 metres above the cathedral floor and was inspired in part by the great domes of Renaissance Europe. Completed in 1710, its elegant proportions and commanding position have made it one of the defining landmarks of the London skyline.

Print details

To create this print, I begin by making individual drawings in ink, which I then bring together to form the final composition. I scan these original drawings and digitally add colour. The finished design exists solely in digital form and is printed using archival inks on fine art paper. I release the design as a limited-edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 × 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 × 29.7 cm).