Artist’s Merseyrail map proves a success

May 20 2009 by Laura Jones, Birkenhead News

AN ARTIST who put the names of Tiger Woods at Hoylake, Paul O’Grady at Birkenhead and Bob Carolgees at Spital on the Merseyrail map has seen his business flourish in the 12 months since its launch.

Graeme Currie created his graphic design, Centre of the Universe, as a public artwork for Capital of Culture year. It hangs in the booking halls at Moorfields and Liverpool Central stations.

But now customers from Mexico, Texas, New Zealand, Australia, Germany and Italy are lapping it up too as the image, in the form of art prints, tea towels and bags, is reminding them of home.

''It has been extremely fulfilling to produce something which has produced such a positive response and which is held in such high regard and sent all over the world,'' said Graeme, who works as a page designer on the Wirral News titles. Author Alan Bleasdale and culture boss Phil Redmond are among the well-known names to be proud owners of the map, which is available to buy on Graeme's webshop Hubcapmap.com as well as the Daily Post and Echo website Merseyshop.com.

Customers at markets in the region are buying them to send abroad along with the new design Culture and Revolution, which shows a map of the continent connecting John Lennon Airport to Rafael Benitez at Madrid, Simon Rattle at Berlin and so on.

On the Wirral line former Open champion Tiger Woods is at Hoylake with Glenda Jackson at West Kirby, and local lad Alex Cox further up the line next to fellow film director Terence Davies. Everest mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine climb up the New Brighton line, while Bob Carolgees is at Spital on the way to Daniel Craig, born in Chester.

''The fun is in arguing over who goes where. I am hoping to roll out the concept to other areas as well.'' said Graeme. Other names on the Northern Line include Red Rum at Aintree with John Conteh at Kirkby.

Borders in Cheshire Oaks stocks the map, as does Port Sunlight Heritage Museum and Birkenhead's Merseytravel kiosk.