Aaron Young arrives at Massimo De Carlo, London, for his second show in the capital with the Mayfair space.

In Limited Exposure, the artist constructs a narrative where every element is either taken from the metropolis and brought to the gallery, or from the gallery expands into the metropolis. Fragments of magazines, an Animal House poster, video game screenshots, hurricane Sandy over New York, bank statements and bananas coat steel panels, currency in life orbit nodding to youth, paranoia, security and compulsion.

Spoilers from classic American muscle cars have been nickel plated and tinted transparent custom colours, creating a series of wall sculptures that “have a macho aspect to them; they’re phallic in a way. But they also strongly refer to minimalism with a relationship to the work of Donald Judd. It’s minimalism on steroids,” says Young.

That’s not the only nod to art history, either – quoting the past and combining with pop connects all in the exhibition. The final works, a series of Blowtorch Paintings are realised by burning canvases with a direct flame and controlling with water. Titled after urban revolts, they’re meditations on the aggressiveness of today.