High up on the fifth floor of the Amber Street Studios building in North Philly is Pterodactyl Creative Project Space. Right now it has up the show “Containment Policy,” which runs through October 1.

“Containment Policy” is a multimedia show that explores the ideas of various structures and institutions around us that serve to confine, categorize and define how humans operate in the early 21^st century. From packaged food and advertising to surveillance and prescription drugs, this show explores the often-convoluted ways by which we shape ourselves, our society and the planet.

Joshua Borden examines a few ideas with his triptych of “Relaxoquell” ads. The three printed images he displays are immediately apparent as parodies of advertising. They bristle with kitschy starbursts, copyright notices and smiling, happy customers. “Relaxoquell” itself pokes fun at cough medicines like NyQuil or Robitussin, which are notoriously potent drugs aside from their use as cold and cough suppressants. Borden’s tonic helps consumers with not just their children’s mental health, but it also keeps housewives obedient and compliant and even helps your soul.

Also taking a look at contemporary society’s relationship with consumption is Timothy Allen. He mounted plastic, gallon milk jugs to black frames and then covered the somewhat-crusty dairy containers in poetry of sorts. The words on the jugs explore the origin and destination of the packaging, as well as the former product therein.

Allen questions whether humans should actively be consuming animal products like milk, but more effectively exposes the packaging around our food. There is a certain amount of discomfort with which to view the trash hanging on the wall. When Allen questions how many hundreds of years decomposition might take, and how much of the refuse simply winds up floating in the ocean, he takes a direct and visceral stab at the means to something we do every day — eat. Billy Blaise Dufala’s “Pile of Trash and Underwear” also takes a look at trash. Black plastic trash bags wear massive, diaper-like white underwear in a humorous take on waste material.

Somewhat less socially charged, but well conceived, is David Stanley Aponte’s painting “After Half a Bottle of Absinthe, a Color Influx, and a Good Conversation.” A glossy black field surrounds an image of one of Van Gogh’s self-portraits, which has been turned to blue hues and crossed with horizontal orange lines. The absinthe is clearly a nod to Van Gogh’s drinking and troubled mind, but it also points out that many of the “good conversations” we engage in are fueled by something we consume and which alters our minds. Brian James Spies similarly engages drugs by displaying drab, graphite images of prescription pills, like Zoloft, Adderall and Prozac.

Ultimately, “Containment Policy” is a show with a lot to think about; you cannot walk away without considering yourself and your habits. Although in some ways cynical, it is also extremely accurate and presents unavoidable problems we all face — sometimes in amusing ways, which help to lighten the load. There will be a closing reception on Oct. 1 with two films and discussions with the curators.