Surrealism

Surrealism developed methods such as automatism, chance combinations and dream-like displacement to bypass conscious control. An image is therefore not Surrealist merely because it is strange; its relation to the unconscious and irrational is central.

When Surrealism is used as a style label, it points to a family of formal qualities and ideas rather than a fixed recipe. Periods and movements overlap, and a single work may draw on several styles.

The label becomes more precise when considered alongside date, composition, colour, materials and historical context. A style can inspire work long after its original period, so appearance alone does not date an object.