Bellewstown artist David Newton is behind ‘Staycation Travel Agents’ in Kells

Kells artist opens a window to life in a time of pandemic

An art installation in Kells created to reflect everyday life scenes in a pandemic is getting a lot of attention among locals.

Bellewstown artist David Newton is behind ‘Staycation Travel Agents’ a thought provoking collection of ink collage paintings reflecting life in a pandemic that takes residency in the shop front of Sean Carty’s iconic former sweet shop in the town.

The project is part of the Kells Type Trail, an annual festival celebrating typography and lettering as a modern art form that is in its 11th year.

Each year one word is translated into a variety of languages reflecting the diversity of the Kells community, the word chosen this year pre pandemic was ironically “journey”, something not many of us would embark on in 2020.

Through a series of collaborations and workshops with local artists these words are then interpreted by artist Mark Smith and his creative Type Trail team to bring an imaginative message to the streets of Kells.

Rather than depicting a journey of travel, David created four 100cm x 70cm ink collages showing couples journeying through lockdown as he explains:

“I came up with the idea of a travel agents to begin with but then Covid happened and I thought that it would be really cool to call it day to day staycation because that is what we are doing, just getting by day to day.

“There are scenes of couples in their little pods, sitting at the kitchen table drawing, having coffee in bed, going to the beach and having a chat and there are two people nuzzled together on a couch so it’s about the whole idea of no matter where you go there you are.

David’s installation sits pride of place in the iconic store front of Sean Carty’s sweet shop, a building close to local’s hearts.

“I am told Sean Carty was a Willy Wonka-type character who wore a white apron and this shop was revered in the community it was like the curious clock of Kells.

“If you were going to meet someone in the town you’d say I’ll meet you at the ice cream shop. It was filled with memories of past freedom.

“The Kells people love this shop.”