A display unit comprising electro-wetting pixels (1300) is provided. The inventive pixels (1300) provide bistable or multi-stable pixel states and thus facilitates passive matrix addressing. For this purpose an additional electrode (1305) is arranged for each multi-stable state. Consequently, each pixel comprises one counter electrode (1306) and at least one pair of address and retain electrodes (1304, 1305). In order to activate a pixel, an address potential is applied to the address and retain electrodes (1304, 1305) in relation to the counter electrode (1306), and in order to deactivate a pixel the potential is removed. In order to retain a current pixel state a retain potential is applied to only the retain electrode (1305) in relation to the counter electrode (1306); the current pixel state, be it active or passive, will then be preserved and the retain potential configuration thus provides a bistable pixel state.