Based on the title alone, this large-scale exhibition sounds as if it could be two-dimensional. But after reading the introductory label, it’s clear the parameters of Pop Life are not limited to popular culture (though that is one of three main pillars). The curated works of 13 Scottish and international artists on display are also centred around themes of contemporary drawing and the human form, which makes a lot of sense when we discover radically opposing pieces by Sandra Vásquez de la Horra (a Chilean artist pulling on magical realism and folklore in her surreal sketches) displayed opposite David Shrigley’s text-based visual punchlines. 

Taking over City Art Centre’s first two floors, Pop Life fills the space with a wide variety of artistic disciplines and a few installations. From Jamie Fitzpatrick’s sculptures subverting public moments to Laura Bruce’s ode to Nashville country legends, the scope of this exhibition’s themes transport us across continents. One particularly immersive section, set in a large dark room on the first floor, is taken up by Marc Brandenburg’s striking display of inverted pencil photographs, giving us a peek at life in the margins of Barcelona and Berlin. Displayed in a long panoramic strip across one wall, the gritty stills appear to change shape under UV light. 

In its entirety, Pop Life is a movement-bending collection that, while fragmented in places, operates as a thematic house populated by artists taking over their own individual rooms. While nothing is working together per se, their combined presence makes us reflect upon collective consciousness over time and the unlocking of memory through the keys of celebrity or recognisable imagery. Perhaps most interestingly, works by the likes of Witte Wartena and Euan Gray examine the role art plays in present-day pop culture, a terrain smothered in technology that relies so heavily on screens for entertainment, connection and livelihood. 

Pop Life, City Art Centre, Edinburgh, until Sunday 9 March.