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The Royal Society of British Sculptors’ Sculpture Shock competition aims to “ambush” contemporary artists by presenting them with unusual and unexpected spaces to inspire and host their work.

David Ogle, who is based in Cheshire and works with light, was given the Subterranean challenge and in nine days has painstakingly transformed one of London’s unseen spaces with fluorescent drinking straws, fishing line and a weather balloon.

The location is not for the unadventurous contemporary art aficionado. Its entrance is at the unglamorous end of Waterloo station, under the tracks, which is normally used as a (council-approved) practice area for graffiti artists and as meeting point for street drinkers. Outside the exhibition, the tunnel air has the aroma and sense of threat you would expect of any such abandoned urban environment.

David Ogle's drinking straw sculptures under Waterloo (Anne-Kathrin Purkiss)

Inside and underground, however, the filth and funk of the outside world are quickly forgotten.

The star of the show is the biggest work, housed in a cavernous, dripping wet space with the rumble of trains overhead. Ogle uses miles of specially-lit fishing line to “draw” fragile three-dimensional shapes across the room, while a glowing orb is reflected in the puddles on the floor. It’s a Waterloo sunset, of sorts.

Elsewhere eerily glowing drinking straw sculptures in pink and green, and another of Ogle’s light drawings, similarly seek to respond to their contexts.

Ogle's light drawings explore the perception of objects in their surroundings

The unusual space and Ogle's work offer a grimy and ephemeral contrast to the Hayward’s blockbuster Light Show, which is has been drawing crowds for months already with its large collection of light sculptures by more than 20 international artists.

Sculpture Shock’s Subterranean exhibition is free to visit at The Vaults, Arch 233, Leake Street, and runs from Thursday 18 until this Sunday, 21 April, when Ogle will return to dismantle it.