Ryde’s Tiny Phone Box Gallery Unveils New Art Exhibition

A tiny art gallery inside a former phone box in Ryde has unveiled its latest exhibition.

Re:Box, on Lind Street, is showcasing new work by Isle of Wight artist Julie Gayle Balliu.

The exhibition is called Out of Order – a reference both to the changing role of the traditional phone box and the unexpected interruptions and diversions we encounter in everyday life.

Julie’s work uses colour, layers and fragments of text to explore ideas around restriction, openness, obstacles and new directions.

She says two panels featured in the exhibition contrast “restriction and openness” through signs, movement and public spaces.

One is inspired by roadworks, diversions and the frustrations of travelling around the Island, while the other celebrates freedom and possibility through tourist stickers, destinations and memories of journeys.

Julie is currently studying Fine Art with the Open College of the Arts.

She originally trained as a graphic artist in London in the late 1980s before working in design, marketing and project management.

She now works mainly in watercolour, alongside mixed media and printmaking, with her work exploring houses, interiors and environments shaped by people.

Re:Box co-founder Zoë Barker said Julie’s work makes the most of the unusual exhibition space.

She said that although the phone box is no longer somewhere you can make a call, it remains “a place of communication”.

Julie’s Re:Box artwork is also available as greeting cards from DEPARTMENT on Cross Street in Ryde.

Re:Box is housed in a classic red Kiosk No.6 phone box on Lind Street.

Ryde Town Council bought the box for £1 through BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme before handing it over to local artists Anmarie Bowler and Zoë Barker.

The pair have transformed the decommissioned phone box into what they describe as Ryde’s smallest art gallery.

The gallery is lit from inside at night, creating the appearance of glowing stained glass.

Re:Box is partly funded by Ryde Town Council.

Artists interested in exhibiting can contact Re:Box by email or find ReBoxRyde on Facebook.