An iconic feminist artist dives seamlessly through highlights of the last 50 years, as Linder: Danger Came Smiling, settles in with indisputable style at Inverleith House.
Spilling out from the gallery to the manicured landscape of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, this first Scottish retrospective looks beyond traditional notions around gender and sexuality and even addresses Linder’s fascination with the language of plants. It runs daily from May 23 to October 19, 2025.
Edgy and playful, occasionally disturbing, Linder: Danger Came Smiling embodies key moments in a beautifully satirical catalogue of works dating back to the rising punk culture of the ‘70s. Tracing defining moments in the artistic life of Linder, from Orgasm Addict, the celebrated Buzzcocks album cover, it takes us on a journey through popular culture to the point of arrival at Inverleith: not only her first Scottish retrospective, but the first botanic garden and domestic setting for an exhibition.
A Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition from Southbank Centre, London, Linder: Danger Came Smiling has been developing behind the scenes in Edinburgh as a particularly fruitful meeting of minds.
The Garden’s Projects Producer Amy Porteous explained: “This is an important exhibition and an exciting partnership. Linder’s artworks engage their audiences in vibrant and powerful snapshots of a male-oriented and consumer-centric culture. They provoke reflection on where we are as a society: the beauty, flaws and strengths inside and around us.
“As a botanic garden, a research institute invested in establishing a more secure future for nature’s habitats, we continually need to consider what we do, how we do it and why. We don’t have a lot of time. With almost half of all known plant species believed to be at risk of extinction, botanic gardens are crucial in provoking difficult conversations and attracting audiences who care about making changes for the better. We need to consider our place in this world.”
From the starting point of her days as a student in Manchester, to new work in digital montages, the exhibition represents the breadth of Linder’s artistic output. Visitors will be introduced to photographs, photomontages, print, video and, also, a very special openair performance.
Officially opening Edinburgh Art Festival 2025, from the Garden’s Oak Lawn on August 7, the performance, A kind of glamour about me, is created by Linder in collaboration with choreographer Holly Blakey, composer Maxwell Sterling and fashion designer Ashish Gupta. It will follow the premiere at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, on June 14. Embodying the transcendent power of the creative arts on personal identity and social mobility, A kind of glamour about me nods to the writings of Walter Scott, the A-Lister of historical blockbusters*.
On this notable Scottish summer, Linder commented: “I’m thrilled to share half a century of works with the visitors to Inverleith House. So many of my photomontages feature floral motifs which caress and sometimes subsume the human body. At Inverleith House, these coded flowers will be decoded by so many visitors in new and telling ways. I look forward to these conversations.
“Inverleith House was once a home, at a time when the roles of men and women were very clearly demarcated. I’ve always been intrigued about what goes on behind closed doors. Is the home a safe space, a refuge, or does danger lurk there? My work looks at the home as a haven, but also the home as a claustrophobic space burdened with the outdated expectations of its inhabitants.
“At a moment in time when safe spaces become more and more important, this show at Inverleith House offers visitors a temporary sanctuary in which to reflect upon our place within homes and gardens in new ways.”
Running until Sunday, October 19, Linder: Danger Came Smiling is recommended for audiences aged 16 years and over. Depictions of nudity and images of a sexual nature are included in this exhibition. Open daily 10.30am – 4.30pm, free entry.