Culture crash

Oliver Flexman's Operations in the Contact Zone, which opened last week at Exeter Phoenix, offers a knowing take on the often absurd mismatch that can occur when translating from culture to culture. As human beings, we have more in common than we often think, but the subtleties of branding and labelling also highlight the differences.

The whole show is as slick, glossy and assured as the branding it reflects. My favourite piece is two huge, faded shop fascias from the Gulf. Though they once sat on two sides of a corner site advertising the same restaurant, the images are now placed back to back over a light box. On one side it reads Prince’s Restaurant the other Princesses Restaurant. The installation is brilliant: the object looks as if it's crashed onto the gallery floor from on high and propped itself on a piece of municipal street furniture.

Operations in the Contact Zone, 20 July - 30 August 2012
Exeter Phoenix Galleries, Gandy Street, Exeter

http://www.oliverflexman.com

www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/art