Derelict Southsea ballroom transformed by art project

The ballroom on Osborne Road in Southsea had fallen into a state of disrepair before its transformation into an art exhibition

A derelict ballroom disused for 40 years has been transformed by an immersive art project.

The Queen's Hotel-owned ballroom in Southsea, Portsmouth, was in disrepair when it was identified by street artist My Dog Sighs for an exhibition.

The artist, who goes only by his first name Paul, said the aim was to show how beauty can be created out of lost and forgotten spaces.

He funded the art installation through crowdfunding and remortgaging his home.

The artist spent 18 months completing the project

My Dog Sighs has become well known for a series of characters and realistic eye murals that have appeared on buildings in the Hampshire seaside resort and around the world.

"I stumbled across this incredible empty building and as soon as I stepped in I realised it was the opportunity of a lifetime, an empty building no-one has been into for 40 years was just the fantastic place to build my own world," he said.

He said the project, which took 18 months to complete, included a series of sculptures of ghost-like beings that he called the Quiet Little Voices.

An exhibition will open at the site on Osborne Road between 16 July and 1 August.

The exhibition includes several ghost-like characters