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A + H ♥ Fulham Broadway
Wet Mess ♥ Waterloo

C + N ♥ Oval

Love Underground imagines London as an erotic commons, with more erogenous zones.

THE CRUISE CODE & BADGES
Cruise Code Map
the map shows which stations are part of the code
Cruise Code Pocket Map
seen them in your local station? 👀
Station Name Index
the back of the map decodes the station names

The Cruise Code is a covert communication system inspired by a long lineage of queer activism and communication tactics. It was designed to open up the possibilities of cruising to a more diverse group of people. The Code uses London tube station names to signify romantic or sexual desires. 

It consists of a map, a station name index, and wearable badges that come in LGBTQ+ colour schemes. Wearing the badges left or right signifies specific desires.


THE MAP & STATION INDEX



LONDON LOVERS 
 A + R ♥︎ Angel
M+M+P ♥︎ Peckham 
Wet Mess ♥︎ Waterloo
C + N ♥︎ Oval
D ♥︎ Chancery Lane
A + H ♥︎ Fulham Broadway

ABOUT THE PROJECTWe must dream and enact better pleasures, other ways of being in the world, and ultimately new worlds. – José Esteban Muñoz, Cruising Utopia
Desire and The Erotic lace our histories as sources of pleasure, but also of resistance and change. A promiscuous reading of the queer archive inspired Love Underground, including the legacy of public transport and adjacent spaces as popular cruising spots, the Hanky Code, Polari, and badges from the queer liberation movement. The project hopes to contribute to futures with better pleasures and more erogenous zones.

It was originally born out of a DIY residency with Transport for London (TfL) that we called ‘Alt Art on the Underground’. We ran a brief that invited artists to be ‘parasites’ on TfL, a powerful institution with cultural clout. It was an invitation to create context-specific art, with a focus on expressing desires for what everyday spaces like public transport could be. 

Meanwhile, the project has grown into a photography project with El Hardwick (@el_hardwick) and the London queer community, an exhibition, live events and a zine. I hope you enjoy it and the code brings some sxc encounters into your life! 
INSPIRATIONSPECIAL THANKS TOEl Hardwick, with whom I conceptualised and shot all the photography you see on this page. Their work explores relationships between bodies and their surrounding environments, queer world making practices, and how we can heal on a damaged planet.

The wonderful models. Anjali & Hugh, Carlotta & Nathan, Destiny, Paul, Mads & Magda, Roro, and Wet Mess.