The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is showing an exhibition of English artist Linder – her first retrospective in Scotland. Linder: Danger Came Smiling is one of a series of events north of the border for the artist who is best-known for her cover art for Manchester band Buzzcocks’ single Orgasm Addict in 1977.
Showing artistic highlights from the last 50 years, the exhibition extends into the Garden itself: its bold works look beyond traditional notions around gender and sexuality and address the artist’s fascination with the language of plants in a display of edgy and playful, sometimes unsettling work, that begins with rise of punk culture in the UK. The setting for the exhibition – Inverleith House and the Gardens – echoes Linder’s interest in what’s ‘behind closed doors’ in a domestic setting, and her use of flowers as decorative motifs in her work.
Comprising photographs, photomontages, print, and video, the exhibition includes a special open-air performance as part of the opening event of Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) 2025, titled A kind of glamour about me, created in collaboration with choreographer Holly Blakey, composer Maxwell Sterling and fashion designer Ashish Gupta. Premiered at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, on 14th June, it nods to feted historical novelist Walter Scott.
Entry is free and recommended for audiences aged 16 and over, with depictions of nudity and images of a sexual nature.
