The work of Edward Kienholz introduced a generation of artists to the use of installation in contemporary art. Michelle Hedger speaks to his widow Nancy on the opening day of one of Baltic's largest ever exhibitions.

SHOCKING, provocative, and at times, amusing - Kienholz features huge, life-size installation pieces by American artists Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz.

More than 80 pieces dominate two floors of Baltic making it one of the biggest exhibitions ever held there.

It's the work of two flamboyant, bizarre imaginations. Full of energy and humour, the installations attack the senses and draw a smile while tackling the controversial issues of war, religion and politics.

A sinister merry-go-round with deformed beasts plays eerie music while the observer steps inside to be confronted with poverty, riches and other "accidents of birth". American politicians are depicted as decaying dummies with animal heads in The Caddy Court, and faceless warlords on fibreglass horses tower above skeletal taxpayers in The Ozymandias Parade - a huge mirrored float which depicts war as a cruel, exploitative money-making machine.

Nancy Kienholz, Ed's widow and co-author of his works since 1972, explains how the issue of war is reflected time and again in their work.

"The Ozymandias Parade was made in 1985 and yet the issues shown here are still relevant today," she says. "It is timeless."

Nancy points out that the coloured lights and the flags on the float change, depending on the host country. "We also take a survey asking whether people think their government is doing a good job and display the answer on the float," she says. "This is the first place we've been where the answer has been 'Yes'."

The exhibition is their first in the UK since 1971 and features works from 1963-2004. It combines works made by Ed from 1963, collaborative pieces from 1972 and more recent works by Nancy.

Nancy says one of the favourite parts of the exhibition is the area she calls The War Room. It is disturbing and fascinating by turns, featuring original war artefacts including the bullethole-riddled, crushed head of a Hitler statue.

"We spent a lot of time travelling and collecting authentic pieces for our work," explains Nancy. "Six months of the year is spent in Berlin and many of the pieces come from there."

While some of the war exhibitions are disturbing, others provoke a wry smile, such as the beautifully carved phallic shells and the Statue of Liberty with its message boldly declaring "It's Not My Fault".

"I try to perceive beauty in atrocities," explains Nancy.

There's also a little sex thrown in too. The biggest installation by far is The Hoerengracht (1983-88), an entire street scene of a seedy red light district which stretches some 13 metres and is recreated with original pieces from Amsterdam.

"Ed and I tackled some serious issues but we had so much fun," she remembers. "We had such a fantastic time working on these. I never realised until I saw the video of us creating the Hoerengracht how little we spoke to each other, but it was because we were so immersed in the work. We had a lot of laughter."

One of the most memorable tableaux of all must be Ed's own funeral in 1994. After dying of a heart attack while hiking, Ed was put in the front seat of a Packard coupe with a deck of cards, a dollar and a bottle of Chianti on the seat. Then his wife steered it into a hole of a grave in a mountainside near their home in Idaho.

Nancy smiles. "You have to have a sense of humour about this sort of thing - even it's a black one. The question is - when I'm gone, who'll have the nerve to dig it all up and bury me with it?!"

* Kienholz is at Baltic until August 29.