Mark Wallinger’s mixed-media constructions have a peculiarly English bite. They make their points with an ironic sharpness that is somehow endearingly characteristic of the place and its people. Like any good satire, this work draws strength from an identification with, rather than a rejection of, its subject. But overall Wallinger’s pieces display an uneven quality, ranging from the trite and throwaway to the perceptive and acerbic.

The titles Wallinger uses are often so direct that, at times, the work can seem to be no more than an illustration of an idea. But in his best works, that openness