The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS)

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS)
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
Even the light fixtures in the capital's subway are often a work of art with a clearly thought-out design that differs from station to station. Let's take a look at the light in the subway through the eyes of photographer Alexandra Slon.

The Moscow Metro is a real underground museum and an endless source of inspiration for creative people. Modern artist Alexandra Slon made a whole photo project dedicated to the lighting in the subway and how it affects the perception of architecture. In her photos, light elements are folded into bizarre, geometric compositions. 

Alexandra also divides her works into several sections – which can be used to trace the chronology of the construction of stations and how the lighting solutions changed in them.

1. The 1930s

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Krasnye Vorota station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Kropotkinskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Sokolniki station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Sokolniki station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

2. The World War II years

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Avtozavodskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Novokuznetskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Paveletskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

3. The Stalinist Empire style

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Arbatskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Kievskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Komsomolskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Kurskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Taganskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

4. Underground ‘khrushchyovkas’

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) VDNKh station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Krasnopresnenskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Oktyabrskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

5. Breakthrough of the stagnant era

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Babushkinskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Pushkinskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Chertanovskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

6. Gorbachev’s minimalism

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Orekhovo station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Prazhskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Tretyakovskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

7. Luzhkov’s palaces

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Maryina Roshcha station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Strogino station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Trubnaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Chkalovskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

8. Modern records

The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Vorontsovskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Michurinsky Prospekt station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Pykhtino station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Rizhskaya station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning
The dazzling illumination of the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) Terekhovo station
Alexandra Slon/Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning

The open air ‘Architecture of Light’ photo exhibition by the Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of the City of Moscow can be viewed along Tverskoy Boulevard in Moscow until December 10, 2023 and is free of charge.

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