Covid: Phone box turned into Santa with facemask in Prickwillow makeover
- Published
An artist has brought some festive cheer with a difference to a village with his latest "silly, not trite" transformation of a disused phone box.
Over the years, the booth in Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire, has been turned into Santa's sleigh nose-diving into the ground, a bauble and Santa at the front of a steam train.
But this year, Cary Outis has brought the theme that has dominated 2020 to the defunct red kiosk - coronavirus.
"I went a bit Covid," he said.
His design features a giant Santa's head wearing a mask that says "Happy Christmas, protect each other".
The telephone box was bought by the parish council in 2010 and turned into a miniature art gallery.
It has brought some festive cheer to the village near Ely every year since 2011 when the Ouse Life Drawing Group was asked to decorate it.
Mr Outis has done six of the nine designs.
The painter and sculptor said he had not felt inspired to do anything in response to the pandemic because he had not wanted to - until now.
"I like doing interesting art if I can, but I couldn't think of anything that was not trite. This is silly but hopefully not trite," he said.
Mr Outis said it took about 12 hours to make, plus the time to install it.
It will stay on Main Street until 31 December.
Mr Outis said the response so far had been "fabulous", with cyclists shouting as they went past and motorists giving him the thumbs-up.
He said the challenge now would be doing something "bigger and better" next year.
"The more difficult, the more fun," he added.
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- Published2 December 2019
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