British portrait artist Emma Kenny was commissioned by the pub chain Flight Club Darts to create a series of works to decorate their Glasgow branch. Established in 2015, Flight Club Darts aims to rejuvenate the traditional British Pub by adding Social Darts, a multi player game of darts that has been redesigned to be fast paced and even more exciting. To stay true to the brand’s message of rejuvenating traditions, Kenny thought that she could fulfill the commission by painting on old and discarded paintings, all to give them a new fun look that better suits the Flight Club Darts’ contemporary spirit.
In her hands, a man dressed in colonial fashion is now raising his own pint of beer and wearing a comically large pink bow. Meanwhile a woman in colonial fashion is now adorning a pink balloon hat as she makes a pink balloon dog for more festivities.
This move has garnered mixed responses, with people torn between its positive sustainable aspect and its seemingly negative historical preservation side. Still, one would not be able to question the popularity of the series, pushing Fight Club Darts to commission more pieces to decorate their upcoming Liverpool branch. This is why the work that Emma Kenny did with these portraits are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Responsible Consumption and Production.
By repurposing old paintings, Kenny is helping to reduce the art sector’s material waste, as even paintings can end up in landfills. Although Kenny’s move has generated mixed responses, similar sustainable endeavours in the art have been sprouting across the world. One initiative, BARDER.art, even works by connecting galleries, artists and institutions in New York and Los Angeles to create a free peer-to-peer resource sharing website.
Emma Kenny’s creative reuse of old paintings for Flight Club Darts exemplifies a refreshing approach to sustainable art, blending tradition with contemporary fun. By giving discarded artworks a new lease on life, she not only adds a playful touch to the pub’s atmosphere but also addresses the growing concern of waste in the art industry. While opinions may vary on the preservation of historical artworks, Kenny’s work underscores the potential for innovation within sustainable practices.
Find out more about repurposed old portraits and other pieces by Emma Kenny on her website www.emmakennycreative.co.uk or Instagram @emmakennycreative.