Classic Phone Box Gets Creative Twist

June 14, 2012 - PRLog -- This summer BT launches ‘BT ArtBox’ in support of ChildLine, a public art exhibition that will see Britain’s iconic red phone box transformed by some of the world’s most creative talent. Amongst the participants is experimental artist, Denis Masi, who, in collaboration with signage and display specialist Creative FX, has transformed a classic K6 telephone kiosk into a graphic work of art.

Denis Masi is one of 80 famous faces and prestigious artists involved in the project; others include Turner prize winner, Keith Tyson, Royal Academy Professor of Sculptor, David Mach, fashion designer Giles Deacon, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and rumours of infamous street artist, Banksy. Masi’s phone box will be displayed for the public at St Giles Circus, after which it will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s auction in the National Portrait Gallery on 18 July, to raise money for ChildLine.

“When Denis Masi commissioned us to apply his design to the iconic telephone box we were delighted to get involved,” explains Sean Davis, director of Creative FX. “Denis is a incredibly talented artist who works with a multitude of different media. We helped him create his ArtBox by applying vinyl printed with stark black and white photography, overlaid with a textured vinyl for a rustic exterior frame, and finally applying the thought-provoking words, ‘Recognisable, Reliable, Real, Renewable’ on the four corners of the box, and ‘Decisions, Dreams and Desires’ round the bottom. The result? A strikingly eerie phone booth.”

The full-size fibreglass boxes are replicas of the original telephone kiosks designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V in 1936. Since then, the red boxes have become an iconic British symbol.

For Masi, this project reflects his own sentiment in recent years. “I’m fascinated by creating pieces that reflect the social power experienced at special public events and festivals,” he explains. “The Jubilee brought together thousands of people all sharing the same experience, and likewise the Olympics will create a kind of glue or social capital.”

Davis agrees: “There are so many reasons to celebrate Britain this year, and this project is definitely one of them. With such a diverse range of talented artists, it’s great to see how they all individually treat the iconic blank canvas. And that’s the beauty of using vinyl; you can take a canvas, be it a wall, a car, a shop front, or in this case a phone box and transform it into something amazing!”