Illustration, or commercial art, as it may today be more appropriately called, has been enjoying a renaissance in recent years.

This British Council exhibition takes as its premise the fact that art directors and designers increasingly favour illustration and commission it in preference to photography. Examples of this predilection can be found in every medium from editorial and entertainment design through to print and even television advertising. Such image-conscious superbrands as Levi's, Nike and Coca-Cola have all recently exploited this once-dying artform's new popularity among the hip and the cool.

Picture This aims to evoke the powerful influence of illustration in London today. We have attempted to encompass the diverse styles that inform this rapidly-changing discipline, from work in more traditional media such as paint and pencil employed by, for example, Chris Kasch and Miles Donovan, through to the computer manipulated and entirely computer generated imagery of younger luminaries like Jasper Goodall and Shiv. The exhibition also includes the work of internationally regarded image-makers Michael Gillette, Graham Rounthwaite, Kate Gibb, Marion Deuchars and Paul Davis.

Picture This is curated by graphic designer and Pentagram partner Angus Hyland with design journalist Roanne Bell. Picture This launched in Tehran in October 2001 and has travelled to Lebanon, Slovenia, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile and is continuing on its international tour in 2003.

Project Manager: Gillian Dingley