Linder opens first solo show in London for seven years

Flowers and food run rampant at her Ever Standing Apart From Everything exhibition, which features never-before-seen photomontages by the artist

Erect Cinquefoil, 2011

The show, which is on at London’s Modern Art gallery, encompasses Linder’s longstanding interest in the human body, pairing images of naked women – snipped from vintage mags – with roses, cakes, and washing machines.

“I made my first photomontage in 1976, which is a long time ago, and despite software like Photoshop and digital media, I still prefer the simplicity of working with glue and paper,” she told CR. “I like it because it’s quite clunky and difficult to do … and it’s almost quite eccentric now.”

“Anyone in the world can buy a magazine, glue stick and scissors and make imagery. It doesn’t require a studio and huge production budget. It’s a very economic means of making work. I’m interested in the very least I can do in order to hijack an image and take it somewhere it shouldn’t do.”

The Goddess who is a form of time, 2017
The Fulfiller of Desires, 2019
Infant’s Door, 2015

As well as the cut imagery many will be familiar with, the exhibition includes some more experimental pieces by Linder. These feature the usual found photography, but covered in Rorschach-esque stains made using enamel paints – which she says were inspired by the work of surrealist artist Ithell Colquhoun.

For an artist that relies so much on physical imagery, it’s hard not to be curious about her thoughts on the millions of images being shared on Instagram on a daily basis. Linder describes the platform as “an instant biopsy of the times we live in”, but explains that the ‘politics’ around these kinds of shared images means she won’t be adding it to her repertoire of found imagery any time soon.

Superautomatism III, 2015

“There’s a sort of grey area there I’ve not yet explored, and I may do one day. I just have my reservations about it. Maybe that’s all the more reason to work with that imagery, but I’m not sure what the cultural exchange is if you use it within your work.”

Ever Standing apart From Everything is on at Modern Art until 16 March; modernart.net