Simon Bedwell, one of 10 artists shortlisted for Beck’s Futures 2004, has created four sets of posters specifically for Piccadilly Circus Station.
Using ClipArt and WordArt software, available to almost anybody with a computer, Bedwell’s posters combine found pictures with words and phrases, real and invented.
As in much of his work, a wide range of visual material, from promotional blurbs to local newspaper headlines, from 1950s photography to Communist Bloc advertising, combines to shape the final images.
The project is a joint commission between Platform for Art and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, made to coincide with Beck’s Futures 2004, the annual exhibition and awards for contemporary artists.
Beck’s Futures is an ongoing collaboration between the ICA and Beck’s, and has established an unsurpassed reputation for showcasing and supporting the work of the most promising artists in the UK. The artists in this year’s exhibition were born not only in the UK but in countries such as Bulgaria, Brazil, the Netherlands and Turkey. They are: Haluk Akakçe, Tonico Lemos Auad, Simon Bedwell, Ergin Çavusoglu, Andrew Cross, Saskia Olde Wolbers, Susan Philipsz, Imogen Stidworthy, Hayley Tompkins, and Nicoline Van Harskamp.
Beck’s Futures 2004 is on show at the ICA, The Mall, London SW1, 26 March – 16 May 2004. Galleries are open from 12pm to 7.30pm daily.
More information is at www.becksfutures.co.uk
