Not of this world

At a recent talk at Exeter Phoenix, artist Charlie Tweed was asked by an audience member to rate his powers of creation against those of God. I can't imagine your average video artist inciting such big questions. The enquiry seemed a little odd at the time but, in fact, there is something beyond the human going on in Tweed's work for his current show 'I Am Algorithm'. Through it, we are almost looking back at ourselves from somewhere beyond.

Made largely of appropriated images, sewn together in cut and paste narratives, the thrust of his work sits in a highly contemporary space between ecology and technology (and rather, like writer Tim Morton, he seems to suggest there is no boundary between the two). It is also somewhat posthuman. We're shown many images that were made possible by humans but have been created by machines. (The synthesised voice that accompanies them underlines this.) It's all housed in a spaces built of what look like black roofing panels, which emit a strong industrial odour in the summer heat.

This isn't an viewer-friendly exhibition. Coming across like a series of monotonous, relentless corporate videos gone wrong, it's actually too much to take in one sitting. Quite a contrast to the work (from the Notes series, I think) that won the 2009 Exeter Contemporary Open. This had  a lighter, more humorous tone, despite its sinister undertow.

In 'I Am Algorithm', Tweed seems to have entered a darker, more intense place. There's lots to admire, but not much to like. And I don't think that's a bad thing.

I Am Algorithm -  Friday  19 July 2013 - Saturday 31 August 2013, Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter EX4 3LS
www.charlietweed.com