A bit of a tilt at new sculptures.

Byline: MARGARET SIMPSON

W HAT image do the words Tilting Planet evoke in your mind? A heavenly body orbiting slightly off-centre, like the North and South pole or the single-minded pursuit of an ideal like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills? Sarah Sze's architectural exhibition in Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is neither of these, but she does make us reflect on the nature of the everyday and the common place in our lives.

At a time when the use of recycled materials seems to be a prerequisite for artistic recognition, Sze's work moves one step further by taking us on a journey through design and form.

Rather like Hansel and Gretel, we follow the thin lines of wool that link each installation and marvel that clear plastic bottles, paper and sticky tape can be transformed into such delicate sculptures.

A carelessly spilt pile of salt becomes the ground for a spirograph of overlapping circles drawn with a plumbline powered by an oscillating fan.

From this perspective, Sze's work becomes less like an installation and more like an investigation into the scientific principles underlying the effect of forces.

Visitors are politely advised that, due to the fragility of the installation only a limited number of people may be admitted at one time. On admission we move carefully, almost reverently from piece to piece absorbing with our eyes; curbing the urge to touch, feel and explore with our hands.

Viewed from the mezzanine floor above, you can see that the hundreds of overlapping sheets of paper, partially suspended, have become a melting ice shelf.

Sze's arrangements and forms invite our imaginations to run riot. Whether we understand or not, as adults, we collude with the narrative that is presented to us.

However, there is another interpretation.

A pre-school child standing next to me, observing the melting ice shelf, asked: "Why are all those pieces of paper stuck together?" Told by his parents that it was a work of art, he replied: "It doesn't look like a work of art, it looks like pieces of paper stuck together." When we respond to modern art, are we being led out of the forest like Hansel and Gretel or sold a con trick as in The Emperor's New Clothes? See for yourself before you decide. Tilting Planets is on display until August 31.

. Margaret Simpson, from Little Lever near Bolton, visited Gateshead and Newcastle over Easter when, she says, she was "keen to visit some of the many art venues advertised in ... promotional magazines".

Sze's work moves one step further by taking us on a journey through design and formSze's work moves one step further by taking us on a journey through design and form