Fashion plate 1970

Richard Hamilton made this collage, Fashion Plate, from cut out magazine pages and photographs. It's an intriguing way to look at how images are constructed and how we put them together in our minds. Looking closely, I'm drawn to how Hamilton uses color and texture, or lack thereof. The model's face, fragmented and disjointed, still manages to convey a sense of beauty, or at least artifice. The eye is so crisp and clear. It's a real contrast with the grey, blurred photographic elements, isn't it? It makes you wonder about the nature of representation and how much we rely on fragments to form a whole. I see echoes of Dada and early Pop Art, a real sense of playfulness and irreverence. For me, it’s about seeing how images collide and converse with each other, much like thoughts in our minds.