Phone box art exhibition celebrates seaside postcards

Artist John Byford said he wanted to make people smile and remind them how special the humble post card is

An art exhibition celebrating the humble seaside postcard is taking place inside a yellow phone box.

Two Voices - which is the work of Skegness artist John Byford - is being held in the resort's twin town of Bad Gandersheim in Germany.

It features postcards of the resort, displayed in a phone box salvaged from a local hotel.

Mr Byford said he wanted to make people smile and do his best to keep the seaside postcard alive.

He said he hoped it would also help to promote links between the two places and encourage more people from Germany to visit Skegness, and vice-versa.

Inside the phone box, visitors can see postcards and artwork produced by John Byford

The artist has produced his own contemporary series of postcards featuring life in Skegness

Mr Byford said about the exhibition: "We live in an age of digital technology and social media - which I love - but I also think what went before shouldn't just die.

"When people receive a hand-written post card it is special - people tend to put them on their fridges, read them over and over - but with text messages they just get deleted.

"It's all about communication at the end of the day," he added.

The artist's post cards are a departure from the traditional seaside image, and feature things like workmen taking a break and dancers on the beach.

Two Voices will run for one year, after which time other artists from both Britain and Germany can apply to have their work considered to be put on display in the phone box.

Residents in Bad Gandersheim were invited to sign the outside of the phone box at the exhibition's official opening on Monday

And, look inside, one at a time

The phone box, which is still red inside, also features a glitter ball

Mr Byford said he painted the phone box yellow to signify the "beautiful beaches" in and around Skegness