Pope visits Exeter Cathedral

From the deliberately ridiculous to the sublimely minimal - Laura Kikauka's den of kitsch leaves Spacex to make room for Simon Pope's Carved from Memory. And the contrast couldn't be starker.

The gallery now contains two speakers playing a recording of a 20-minute conversation between Pope's grandmother and a local stonemason. Not much more. Gran is doing that thing many grans do: trying to remember something - in this case the details of a gargoyle on the front of Exeter Cathedral carved by her father, but now eroded. The stonemason will attempt a recreation based only on this conversation.

I was initially disappointed to find that there was nothing showing the stonemason's attempts to draw or carve the figure. But that's to miss the point. The almost-empty gallery and the lack of visual reference throws you back in on yourself. All you can do is listen and imagine as the details of the gargoyle are teased out. You leave the gallery with your own unique mental image of the sculpture.

It's a compelling proposition, boldy stated, and the attendance of several generations of the Pope family at the gallery opening gave it personal colour too - but I feel conflicted over this show.

I'm all for quality, but sometimes you have to feel the width too. This show is occupying Exeter's only truly contemporary art space for the best part of two months. It's good, but is it substantial enough? I say not.

Until 11th July 2009 at Spacex, 45 Preston Street, Exeter EX1 1DF http://www.spacex.org.uk/