German artist Dirk Bell presents an exhibition of new work, and that not yet seen in the UK, including sculpture, animation, large-scale installation and the ephemeral, romantic drawings for which he is best known. The exhibition explores the enduring tussle between love and freedom, along with the universal structures that shape and control societies. Bell's own car will also appear, sporadically, as it makes a physical and metaphorical journey from Germany to Glasgow and now to Gateshead and beyond.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art presents MADE IN GERMANY, a new exhibition by one of Germany's leading young artists Dirk Bell. The exhibition incorporates new commissions and works not yet seen in the UK including sculpture, animation, large-scale installation and the ephemeral, romantic drawings for which he is best known.

MADE IN GERMANY explores the enduring tussle between love and freedom, along with the universal structures that shape and control societies. Bell's delicate, romantic drawings and paintings are infused with myth and legend. Sensual, lyrical and almost hallucinogenic, his work is laced with references and associations that question our attempts to make sense of the world, our belief systems and the structures that control our societies.

The exhibition includes the major installation Revelation Night Sun 2010 comprised of 64 fluorescent tubes that produce a pulsating, inescapable light that dominates the larger of two exhibition spaces. The work generates signals, patterns of light or meditations that reveal a variety of symbols and in doing so radiates a dense network of meanings and associations. In the light of the 'sun', our attention is drawn to the immensity of the universe, the overwhelming power of nature and of the sublime. In the darkness, we are reminded of what makes us human.

During the weeks of the exhibition Bell's own car will make a physical, metaphorical and spiritual journey from Gateshead to London, Glasgow and beyond. When in the gallery, the car will become an instrument that can be played by operating its guidance system, or 'Sat-Nav'. The game inside the car is a journey where the player must make sense of the world and create balance in order to survive. As in all of the works in the exhibition, it encourages us to question our beliefs, our moral psychology and to reflect on a search for balance.