In 1932 Cahun joined the Association des Écrivains et Artistes Révolutionnaires, where they met André Breton and René Crevel. Following this, they started associating with the surrealist group, and later participated in a number of surrealist exhibitions, including the London International Surrealist Exhibition (New Burlington Gallery) and Exposition surréaliste d'Objets (Charles Ratton Gallery, Paris), both in 1936. Cahun's photograph from the London exhibition of Sheila Legge standing in the middle of Trafalgar Square, their head obscured by a flower arrangement and pigeons perching on their outstretched arms, appeared in numerous newspapers and was later reproduced in a number of books. In 1934, Cahun published a short polemic essay, "Les Paris sont Ouverts", and in 1935 took part in the founding of the left-wing anti-fascist alliance "Contre Attaque", alongside André Breton and Georges Bataille. Breton called Cahun "one of the most curious spirits of our time."