Dark Damp & Dirty – ‘The Underbelly Project’

It seems like an age since I received a cryptic message inviting me to New York City. I asked what I was going to see & was told I’ll just have to wait. little did I know what I was going to see & experience.

I’m one of those car passengers who has no clue of how I got to the destination and this trip was no exception.  I could hear the relentless sound of car horns above as I followed my guide into the claustrophobic space of the New York City subway system. We get on the subway train just as the doors were closing, we change trains on two more occasions whilst people barge past in narrow corridors in a rush to catch their connecting trains, everyone is in a rush to get to their destination & with the heat bellowing through the tunnels no one can blame them.

We move out of public space and are soon in darkness & the deeper we go the louder I can hear my heart beating, this space is unlike any other I have ever experienced & I’m scared shitless.

After some time I’m told we have arrived at our destination and welcomed to the ‘Underbelly Project‘, who’d have believed that just 10 minutes earlier I was sitting in the Central Park sunshine.

Clouded in secrecy this project had been ongoing for well over a year with numerous artists making the same trip into the darkness I had.  The air in the station was hot and humid and thick with dust, as I shone my torch around I was confronted with a huge space littered with art from many people I know and some I didn’t,  as I wander around I’m careful not to fall down one of the many holes in the floor. Here’s a small selection of the works I saw.

Suddenly there’s a noise & my guide quickly signals to turn torches out. We stood there in the pitch black & listened, I’ve never experienced darkness like it, the kind that makes every minute feel like 10, as much as this is an adventure I can’t wait to get the hell out.

Keep an eye on www.theunderbellyproject.com for more news.