Missing good targets

Hogarth, Gillray, Cruickshank. In that great era of the caricaturist, these figures hit their targets with incisiveness. Today it appears to be the cartoonist and not the artist who understands most the lambasting art of the didact, especially for a good old anti-war protest.

While artist Brian Jones compares Blair to Mao, cartoonist Steve Bell finds more resonance in Clinton's judicial lies, as Blair's zealot denies his relations with that dossier.

As some should leave it to the cartoonists, so others to the photojournalists, for what do John Keane's transcribed media images add to what we already witness on the nightly news? Peter Kennard here presents a work that was withdrawn by Orange for its Peace On Earth promotion. With her robed head replaced by the Earth's globe, this spooky image of the Virgin Mary is more Grim Reaper than message of hope.

By contrast, Anthony Caro's approach is subtle: a pitchfork amid some rusted metal. Of course, it's Britannia's trident, toppled to the ground. But what does this ancient symbol mean to us, fallen from the grasp of a lady who is herself an outmoded symbol of Britain?

And can Britain really be blamed for every atrocity under the sun? Apparently yes. And that's the problem with using a scattergun - you keep missing more obvious targets.

Pax Britannica: A Hellish Peace is at The Aquarium, 10 Woburn Walk WC1, Mon to Sat 11am to 6pm, free. Until Apr 17. Tel: 020 7387 8417. Tube: Euston