New Underground Art Project By Martin Firrell

Underneath Waterloo station is a theatrical art installation inspired by the themes of the Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes movie

Last night SFX explored IT ENDS HERE , a new public art exhibition in London, and from tomorrow you can visit it too. In association with Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes , Martin Firrell (“One of London’s most influential public artists” according to The Guardian) has created an underground installation which will be presented free of charge from 10 to 12 July. So if you're in the capital for London Film And Comic Con maybe pop along. The entrance is at The Vaults, Leake Street, London, SE1 7NN. Here's a video introduction in which Firrell talks about the work:

SFX has covered Martin Firrell's work before because the celebrated artist takes a great deal of inspiration from science fiction and fantasy. Subtitled "human nature and the road to redemption or hell", this new space is consistent with Firrell’s work to date - he has created large-scale light displays on some of London’s most iconic buildings including St Paul’s Cathedral, you may remember, and took Nathan Fillion as his muse for the Complete Here projections .

Although there are no actual apes to be found, the art project riffs off themes of brutality and paranoia. IT ENDS HERE is a text-based project in five different underground environments, each dominated by a word or phrase. Visitors are given torches to explore some of the cavernous chambers and discover texts. The venue is incredibly atmospheric, filled with smoke and sound. Commenting on the new public artwork, Firrell says: “With IT ENDS HERE, my intention was to explore the deeper value of Planet Of The Apes ’ particular corner of pop culture, locating truths that cast light on our attempts to live humanely in an over-crowded and tension-filled world. I have an interest in popular culture as a mass disseminator of good ideas – drawing attention to the deeper value in popular culture and encouraging people to look at it with a greater appreciation of its possible meaning”.

IT ENDS HERE runs from tomorrow, 10 July, until Saturday 12 July in The Vaults at Waterloo. It's open from 4pm until 10pm and entry is free but you have to be over 12 years old. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is in cinemas nationwide from Thursday 17 July, and is reviewed in the next issue of SFX magazine.

Dave was once the Group Editor-in-Chief for Future's film group, but now he's the COO of Pocket Gamer and Pocket Gamer Biz. He also freelances for SFX Magazine and hosts the Robby The Robot's Waiting podcast with a couple of friends.