Linder

Manchester’s music scene has provided an important alternative to London, boasting some of the most important acts of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including Buzzcocks, The Smiths and The Fall. Linder Works, 1976–2006 documents and examines the practice of an artist who has played an integral role in the creative life of the city for over three decades.

Linder is an innovative artist, whose work was often first seen in self-published fanzines such as Secret Public (1978), produced in collaboration with Jon Savage. This book makes the ephemeral in her work solid: its sober design – with grey hardback cover and large colour illustrations throughout – adds gravitas and connotes historical importance. It contains several essays, ranging from Linder’s memoirs of the past 30 years to contributions from Morrissey, Savage, Lynne Tillman, Philip Hoare and Andrew Renton. Some of the texts veer towards the analytical, such as Renton’s discussion of her work in terms of performance and gender, while others, such as Morrissey’s, take a more personal route into the work. This wide range is perhaps indicative of the fact that Linder is an artist who defies categorization, her work moving from the alternative music and performance scenes to feminist and political concerns.

Linder is perhaps best known in the art world for her photomontage work, which is discussed at length in the book. This technique has been an abiding part of her practice, be it in the context of album cover and poster designs or pieces destined for gallery exhibition. Her poster for the Buzzcocks’ single ‘Orgasm Addict’ (1977) is one of the most emblematic and memorable pieces of Punk design. The sleeve features a yellow background with an upside-down female figure, whose head has been replaced by an iron and her nipples covered with smiling faces. Linder’s work in this medium often drew on porn imagery, which Linder says had ‘its own debased codes’, which she was attempting to understand but never collude with, just as other artists, including Carolee Schneemann and Hannah Wilke, also pushed the boundaries between critique and titillation in their work.

As with artists such as Cosey Fanni Tutti and Catherine Elwes, who have been marginalized as a result of their radical use of the body, Linder’s work is now coming to be seen as an important feminist contribution. Her signature performances, as part of the post-Punk band Ludus at the legendary Hacienda club in Manchester, included her donning a meat dress (something seen in the work of other Feminist artists, such as Anne Bean and Jana Sterbak) and an infamous oversized black dildo.

The most significant achievement of the book is to align Linder’s work with several seemingly disparate strands. It illustrates how she has moved effortlessly across media into sculpture and, more recently, installation work, with a consistent focus on the body and performance strategies. Reading Linder Works 1976–2006 is like discovering a well-kept secret.