Let It Snow: Festive Season Arrives Inside Ryde’s Phone Box

What started as a way to escape the daily grind has turned into a local artist’s personal passion and now he’s sharing his creations with Islanders in Re:Box, Ryde’s smallest art gallery.

Phil Collinson, aka Plop Art, started drawing during the pandemic, and says it’s served to improve his mental health in ways he’d never anticipated.

An Island resident for more than eight years, the town itself is his preferred muse.

With a love of bold cartoon drawings, his work brings a comic book twist to well-know local scenes.

“This project, a phone box display, was a blast to put together," he explains.

"Since snow is a rare treat on the Island, it was fun imagining Ryde’s Town Hall and Appley Tower buried under a blanket of white.”

Phil’s Re:Box display is part of New Carnival’s Merry & Bright Festival of Lights, an annual holiday walking trail in and around Ryde which will take place on December 6 and 7.

“Phil’s work is ideal this time of year,” Zoe Barker, Re:Box co-founder said.

“He’s plopped a giant snow globe on Lind Street, all lit up for the festive season.”

Re:Box is Ryde’s smallest art gallery, based in a classic Kiosk No.6 red phone box on Lind Street.

Through BT's Adopt a Kiosk initiative, Ryde Town Council purchased the box for £1 and turned it over to Anmarie Bowler and Zoë Barker, a pair of local creatives determined to give the decommissioned piece of street furniture a new lease of life.

Lit from the inside, when night falls Re:Box transforms into a lightbox that creates the magical impression of glowing stained glass.

Zoë and Anmarie are developing Re:Box programming for 2025.

If you create interesting work and think inside the box, contact Re:Box at ReBoxRyde@gmail.com.