Jasper Rees’ latest article “Street Art Way Below the Street” in the New York Times reveals the works of 103 street artists from around the world who mounted their artwork illegally in a long-abandoned New York City subway station this past summer. Here is a brief glimpse into the nature of their artistry, as they unveiled the project for a single night.

“Known to its creators and participating artists as the Underbelly Project, the space, where all the show’s artworks remain, defies every norm of the gallery scene. Collectors can’t buy the art. The public can’t see it. And the only people with a chance of stumbling across it are the urban explorers who prowl the city’s hidden infrastructure or employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.”

…

Rees quotes Workhorse, part of the pair who conceptualized this idea, when he said, “There is a certain type of person that the urban art movement has bred that enjoys the adventure as much as the art. Where else do you see a creative person risking themselves legally, financially, physically and creatively?”

…

“PAC and Workhorse saw the Underbelly Project as a way…evade the whims of the marketplace. Workhorse called it ‘an eternal show without a crowd.’

…

‘We do want to preserve the kind of sacred quality of the place,’ PAC said, ‘but we also want people to know it exists. And we want it to become part of the folklore of the urban art scene.’

…

Working conditions were far from favorable. The ambient humidity made stenciling and the wheat-pasting used by some artists laborious…Although other artists’ pieces would seem to be more permanent, the dampness of the space is already working against them. One thickly sprayed painting has simply never dried. The curators said they thought the painted works could last two or three decades if left untouched. But even assuming the work is discovered by the transportation authority sooner than that, PAC said, ‘I like the fact that it’ll feel apocalyptic, because things will be deteriorating, and it’ll already be a memory.’

After this reporter’s tour, the curators destroyed the equipment they had been using to get in and out of the site. ‘We’re not under the illusion that no one will ever see it,’ Workhorse said. ‘But what we are trying to do is to discourage it as much as possible.'”