Picsel+ 2003

4 July - 3 August 2003

Matthew Pell

Following the success of Picsel+ in 2002, the work in Picsel+ 2003 added to the vibrant life of the city during the Cardiff Festival. Again we invited artists to submit silent works of 15 seconds.

The Queen St display screen usually shows advertising material from businesses and the City Council. For 15 seconds every ten minutes, this flow was interrupted by one of Picsel+’s artists. Sometimes low-tech, the videos risk being swamped by slick advertising slots that vie for your attention. But the works for Picsel+ have been selected precisely because in this competitive territory they can hold their own. They captivate an audience’s attention with their innovation, intrigue or peculiarity. Picsel+ intervenes in the public space with moving images that have no political leaning or market drive. They invite passers-by into a new world that either works with or disrupts the city’s usual outlook.

Artists include: Dave Ball (Swansea, Wales); Christopher Brown (Cardiff, Wales); Eduardo Carnicero (Newport, Wales); Rachel Dobbs (Exeter, England); Chris Evans (Cardiff, Wales); Libby Hague Toronto, (Canada); Barry Hale (Northampton, England); Laura Hardman (Cornwall, England); Laresa Kosloff (Victoria, Australia); Toni Latour (Vancouver, Canada); David Massey (London, England); Miwa Matreyek (London, England); Loren Mendell (Hollywood, USA); Matthew Pell (Leicester, England); Leslie Raymond (Michigan, USA); Anthony Shapland (Cardiff, Wales); Ryan Suter Canada).

“The mortality of these images is very short. Each must encompass itself with brevity and clarity then make way for the next in line. ‘Picsel+’ is about a humility of images, it is for those who can encompass the largest within the smallest. These fields of colour must amuse, provoke, frighten or perplex, their lives must be economical and succinct.

It is a lot to ask of each artist and a lot to expect of such a format but we think the collection of work presented here achieves those criteria.” Michael Cousin, Picsel+ 2003 selector.