Collector Charles Saatchi's new exhibition of contemporary US art, at London's Royal Academy of Arts, "deals with the war on terror replacing the Iron Curtain".

The USA Today show incorporates painting, sculpture, installations and found art. Jon Pylypchuk's dying rat army is intended to be an example of poetic justice.

Organisers say the exhibition "asks questions to which there are no straight answers". Adam Cvijanovic's work is intended to echo church frescos.

Never afraid to court controversy, Saatchi has included a work which chronicles police corruption by presenting stories torn from US tabloid newspapers and sprayed with semen.

The show aims to demonstrate that despite global turmoil, the US is still a place for creativity and diverse points of view.

Many pieces are designed to evoke both sympathy and suspicion, questioning consumer culture. The show runs at the Royal Academy until 4 November.