The world of snail mail has taken precedence in the Interim Gallery?s new exhibition.

Postcards are being delivered from all over the world for the exhibition entitled ?wish you were here? on Friday evening.

Gallery coordinator Kendra Ezekiel said the idea for the show was not novel, but it filled a gap in the summer line up.

?The postcard idea arose from necessity after not having much luck in recruiting anyone for a solo or small group show for which the space is best suited due to it?s small scale,? she said.

?The artist who had been invited was unable to commit as he was potentially leaving the Island to live abroad, thus I needed a back up plan.

?I approached several others, but they did not have a body of work to show or were not going to be on the Island. I discovered, artists, like to go on holiday during the summer. Eureka!?

From this she decided to ask them to send an original postcard to the Gallery to give a different twist to the idea of a summer open show. ?The size of a postcard is small enough to have several artists participate several times over,? said Miss Ezekiel.

?Kaleidoscope?s Art students have also been invited to participate.?

She said the original idea stemmed from a whole movement of ?Mail Art? that has a history dating back to the 1960?s.

?Mail Art has a carefree quality, that is more interested in the process of communication and the living experience than creating a grand artwork,? she said.

?This postcard show will only be as original as the artist?s submissions. ?Mail Art can be a global exchange, especially now with the Internet as a tool for posting calls.

?Apart from the printed invite that was handed out, many artists spread the word overseas to friends through e-mail. ?So, I have been waiting with great anticipation and a bit of anxiety about what will arrive and when.?

Miss Ezekiel said there has been great enthusiasm to the idea so far.

?Obviously, not everyone has had time to create something, but so far what has been received makes for an interesting show,? she said.

?There are over 100 cards and as I speak, and I know of more cards that were posted, but have yet to arrive. The postal system, unfortunately, was setback like everything else last week, so we can only hope for the best.

?If any postcards arrive after the opening they will still be added to the show, continually changing the exhibit for the duration of it?s run until August 17th.?

When asked what was the wackiest, best, most original or weirdest cards she had received so far, she took the fifth. ?I can?t say!? she said.

?However, I can say that the written messages, titles and information on the backside of the card in some instances can be equally as intriguing as the front.

?There are even a few artists exploring their poetic abilities. The cards will be installed in a way that the audience will be able to handle them in order to see both sides.

?The cards have already been handled in the post, so the art has been liberated from its ?precious? status. This is one art show where you will not see a ?do not touch? label.?

The mediums used are as diverse as the images said Miss Ezekiel.

?There is photography, digital prints, acrylic, paper collage, watercolour, charcoal, oil pastel, pencil crayon etc. Some of the cards will be on sale, but not all of the artists have opted to sell their cards.?

The title of the show was chosen to allow for free interpretation. ?The only limitation was the size of the card, four by six inches.?

While smiling she said: ?There are a few rebel artists who did not read this or ignored it completely. We won?t shame them in the local press, but come to the show and you can see for yourself who the culprits are!

?Some of the artists that have taken part so far are Louisa Flannery, Ian McDonald Smith, Jon Legere, Bruce Stuart, Peter Lapsley, James Cooper, Meredith Andrews, Alicia Tyson and many more.?

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The show opens at 6 p.m. ? 9 p.m. at the Interim Gallery, which is located on the corner of King and Reid Streets, Hamilton.