Untitled 1976

This is an ‘Untitled’ collage made by Linder; she’s a British artist who came to prominence in the 70s and 80s. Linder has a particular way of splicing together images from different sources in order to create something totally new and uncanny. I see a teapot, or rather a hybrid of a teapot and the torso of a woman, awkwardly perched in what looks like an ultra-modern kitchen. There's a hyper-realistic apple tart hovering on the wall and an open pie on the counter nearby. The textures of the different cut-out images contrast with each other and the muted palette adds a dreamlike quality to the scene. It has a strange power, and it makes you think about the ways women have been represented in advertising and visual culture. Linder’s collages can be placed within a tradition of surrealist assemblage that includes artists such as Hannah Höch and Man Ray, but also anticipates later artists like Martha Rosler and Barbara Kruger. Ultimately the piece embraces ambiguity, challenging us to question our perceptions and embrace multiple interpretations.