The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Artists revive old underpass
Apair of Fife artists renowned for their large-scale public creations have added a splash of colour to a rundown underpass.
Celie Byrne and Donna Forrester, who form part of the Kelty Art Creative – which has revived much of the former mining town’s high street in recent years – are behind the latest project in Dalgety Bay.
Not content with painting the underpass themselves, the pair have enlisted an army of volunteers and pupils from both Donibristle and Dalgety Bay schools to help.
The two-week project, spearheaded by local councillor David Barratt, has now given a new lease of life to the underpass in Moray Way.
Gone is the peeling paintwork, which has now been replaced by an underwater seascape of sharks, octopuses and shoals of fish.
The art duo are wellknown to Fifers, having produced a number of large-scale public artworks in recent years including a celebration of Fife boxer, Connor Law, in Kelty.
Donna also painted the tribute to Paul Lowe, the Black Watch soldier killed in Iraq in 2004.
Celie, daughter of famous Glaswegian artist John Byrne, said: “It’s great getting the youngsters to take part in the creative process as it instils a sense of ownership in the work.”
She added: “As well as schools, we’ve thrown it open to people of all ages from the community to add their own mark to the artwork by adding their individual hand print.
“We’ve had scores of people turn up and even had a baby add its footprint to the piece, which is brilliant.”
The long arm of the law was also caught “red handed” when local officers arriving to inspect the colourful goings-on were roped into adding their own handprints.
For Mr Barratt, the work could not have come soon enough.
He said: “I’m delighted to finally see the project get off the ground.
“Residents have long complained about the shoddy state of the underpass so the feedback from locals so far is overwhelmingly positive.”
With the underpass and one side of the entrance set to be completed this week, phase two of the refurbishment is already in the planning stage.