2025-09-21 – News – www.theguardian.com
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts
This month, Art on the Underground is unveiling a new artwork at Stratford station, London, by the Kurdish artist Ahmet Öğüt, entitled Saved by the Whale’s Tail, Saved by Art. It was inspired by a metro accident outside Rotterdam in which the train overran the elevated station stop, but was saved from plunging into the water below by a 10-metre-high sculpture of a whale’s tail, one of two placed there by artist Maarten Struijs. There were no passengers on board, and the driver managed to escape unharmed.
Was this a one-off? Have there been other works of art that have played a rescue role? Or is their potential for salvation solely restricted to the spiritual? Astrid, Coventry
