Letter from Che
- Artist: Joe Tilson
- Date: 1969
- Medium: Printed papers, ink on paper, 2 metal paperclips and string on screenprint on paper
- Dimensions: support: 1010 x 603 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Letter from Che” by Joe Tilson, created in 1969. The work unfolds on a sizeable screen‑printed sheet of paper—about one metre long and two metres wide—wherein the artist layers inked images with printed paper fragments, metal clips, and string that frame the composition. Tilson’s choice of medium is already a statement: the collage feels like a letter in physical form, something to be held and unfolded.
The subject matter is unmistakably Che Guevara. Tilson places a stylised head‑and‑face block within the larger portrait, surrounded by notes that read like marginalia. The inked outlines of his hat and mustache contrast with the raw texture of the paper base, creating a tactile sense of immediacy.
The piece functions as both image and note; the two metal paperclips and string physically link parts of the composition, suggesting the act of correspondence or attachment. Tilson’s work belongs to the British modern‑and‑contemporary art movement of the late 1960s—a period when collages, mixed media and photographic references were being explored widely.
Feel how the texture invites you to trace the edges with your eyes, and imagine that this canvas is a postcard from an iconic revolutionary to an unnamed reader.
See it in person
Letter from Che is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
