Linderism
15 February 2020 – 11 October 2020
Most well known for her photomontage, this exhibition explored the diverse range of Linder’s practice. It explored Linder as performance artist, zine-maker, musician, documentary-photographer, collaborator, muse, guru, medium and body-builder.
Through the use of the Kettle’s Yard Archive, Linder also approached Helen Ede’s elusive presence in Kettle’s Yard. Linder reinstated Helen through the creation of ‘House of Helen’, a brand of products available in the shop. A series of new commissions engaged all five senses and saw Linder staging interventions in all areas of Kettle’s Yard.
Linder was born in Liverpool in 1954 and was an active figure in the punk and post-punk music scenes. Probably best known for the album covers which she created, her photomontages often combine everyday images taken from fashion or home magazines with images from pornography.
On 14 March 2020 Linder staged a new performance, with a soundtrack by musician Maxwell Sterling, at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, the home of the New Hall Collection of art by women.
The exhibition was produced in association with Newcastle University’s Hatton Gallery, where it travelled to in November 2020
Gallery
Installation photos: Matthew Booth
Linderism Exhibition Tour
With exhibition curator Dr. Amy Tobin
Bower of Bliss at The Women’s Art Collection
Linder staged the performance Bower of Bliss: An Improper Architecture at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, which hosts the Women’s Art Collection, as part of the exhibition.
Performers: Lauren Fitzpatrick, Kirstin Halliday, Gia Jones, Lilian Wang and Ashley Young. Music composed and performed by Maxwell Sterling with Kenichi Iwasa and Inter Alios choir of Murray Edwards College and Churchill College.
Costumes designed by Louise Gray. Cinematography by Fatosh Olgacher. Commissioned by Kettle’s Yard with New Hall Art Collection as part of Linderism.
The Six Senses: A Series of Talks
Explore the sensory dimensions of Linder’s work through these multimedia discussions.
Extra Sensory Perception
Frank Bowles, Archivist at Cambridge University Library, pulls out material Linder examined in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research, and discusses the influence of extrasensory perception on her work in this recorded talk.
Smell
Lizzie Marx, History of Art PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, explores the role of smell in the history and experience of art by way of Linder, Jim Ede and seventeenth-century Dutch art.
The Lower Senses
Mark Bradley, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Nottingham, and Linder’s academic consultant on the history of the senses, uses the ‘lower senses’: smell, taste and touch to draw connections between classical bodies and Linder’s photomontage.
Sight
Emma Wilson, Professor of French Literature and the Visual Arts at the University of Cambridge, responds to the Linderism publication in her text on ‘Scopophilia: At home with Linderism.’
‘Scarlet Else’: Limited Edition Print by Linder
As part of the exhibition Linderism, Kettle’s Yard commissioned a new print, Scarlet Else, by Linder.
The original photomontage comprises a photograph of Helen Ede – cofounder of Kettle’s Yard – chosen by Linder from our archive and an image of a rose, bred in 1956, the year the Edes moved to Cambridge.
Scarlet Else was printed by Curwen Studios in close collaboration with the artist.
The edition is 75, each print is signed and numbered by the artist. This edition is now sold out.
Thank you
We are grateful to the following for their generous support:
Carol Atack and Alex van Someren
Matt Symonds
Zabludowicz Collection