Bernhard Martin's collages present a broad array of vividly colored visual references that call to mind images encountered in advertising, magazines, mail-order catalogues, and television programs. Yet the viewer is puzzled by the disparate, altered motifs, sharp contrasts, and distorted, labyrinthine pictorial structures. Pursuing a principle comparable to that of baroque chambers of wonders, Bernard Martin, born 1966 in Hanover, arranges images both familiar and obscure around a basic motif, distilling from the whole a panorama of "the world in which we live." In creating these mementos, the artist reinvents textbook illustrations or candy wrappers, arranging collages composed of seemingly harmless sequences from an everyday world gorged with visual images into captivating cultural critiques. Exhibition schedule: Villa Arson, Nice, February 26-May 22, 2005