Date:	2007
Artist:	Felice Varini
Location:	Cardiff Bay Barrage, Penarth Marina, Wales

Swiss artist, Felice Varini has created a new outdoor public art
commission, situated on the Barrage.

A series of three yellow ellipses have been painted onto the working locks, gates and even the outer sea wall. From virtually every angle these marks simply look like splashes of colour, against the backdrop of Penarth Headland and the Bristol Channel. But on closer inspection visitors to the Barrage are treated to a remarkable visual spectacle on discovering 3 perfectly formed yellow ellipses, which create a powerful piece of public art.



Felice Varini created the work - entitled ‘3 ellipses for 3 locks’ - on site between the 11– 25 March 2007 in time for the summer season. The artwork is the artists first in Wales and is also his first work in the UK. The commission, which was in planning for over a year is the result of a complex process involving photography, projection, and painting, as well as a crew of professional mountain climbers who were needed to access the Barrage’s inaccessible areas.

Cardiff Harbour Authority committed to fully funding Varini’s detailed design, following in the footsteps of his previous works situated across Europe, the USA and Asia. This latest project highlights the main working parts of the barrage and in particular its 3 locks. The trick is to find where to stand to make the piece come to life. The piece which is an anamorphic illusion is - like all Varini’s work - highly site specific, as the artist has stated:
“My field of action is architectural space and everything that constitutes such space. These spaces are and remain the original media for my painting. I work “on site” each time in a different space and my work develops itself in relation to the spaces I encounter”.

Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture in 2007 said, “The Barrage is a popular location of residents and tourists visiting Cardiff Bay, and it is both interesting and fascinating that the location itself is so integral to the design of this new piece of public art”.