Phone box in Prickwillow near Ely honours tumultuous year

The annual makeover of a village phone box into Picasso inspired Santa has been well-greeted by residents of Prickwillow in Cambridgeshire

An artist has transformed a defunct phone box into a Picasso-themed Santa in an annual makeover tradition.

The kiosk in Prickwillow, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, has in the past become a reindeer, a giant bauble and donned a facemask in a Covid makeover in 2020.

Designer Cary Outis said he conceived his "PicasSanta" to depict what he described as a "fractured year".

The phone box was bought by the village council in 2010 and turned into a miniature art gallery.

Members of the Ouse Life Drawing Group have "blinged up" the box since 2011. Mr Outis has created eight of the 12 designs.

The artist and sculptor said he starts thinking about the following year's design from the moment he takes down the last one.

He said he was still lacking inspiration until the Russian invasion of Ukraine made him think of the Spanish artist.

The Ouse Life Drawing Group has been delivering new Christmas-inspired designs every year for 12 years

"The war started in February; the ridiculous fuel and financial crisis came along; everything is a bit broken up and in the wrong place," he said.

"Pablo Picasso, the way he breaks things up and puts them together into something that is weirdly recognisable, even though it is all over the place - well that's how the year's been.

"And I thought it would be fun as well."

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The transformation of the phone box into PicasSanta took him about three days. He used plywood to build a sculptural front.

Mr Outis said the response from the general public had been good so far.

Mr Outis said the 2020 design was met with a "fabulous" response

"Any artist wants any response at all," he said. "The people in Prickwillow have been lovely, there's been lots of lovely messages on the village's Facebook page."

PicasSanta will stay on Main Street until 31 December.

PicasSanta represents a "fractured 2022" said the artist Cary Outis who carried out the annual phone transformation