23 May – 19 October 2025
Linder’s first retrospective in Scotland showcases 50 years of trailblazing artwork. It dives into her fascination with plants and invites us to see beyond traditional ideas about gender and sexuality.
Deliciously satirical, her photomontages remix images from popular culture, ranging from early pin-up photography to house plants.
This adapted version of Linder: Danger Came Smiling – a Hayward Gallery Touring Exhibition from Southbank Centre, London – spills out into the Garden.
| Time | Description |
| [Amy Porteous, Producer, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh] This is the first retrospective of Linder's work in Scotland. | |
| [Linder, artist] Some of the earliest works in the show are from 1976, and they really are all set within the domestic interior in which women have many expectations projected onto them. The gender roles then were very, very marked. You know a man had to be a man. A woman had to be a woman. | |
| Often women my age, their first reaction is to almost laugh. To laugh at those, to look at those works and think, gosh, that's how it was. It was that bad back in the seventies. | |
| And then you have 16 year olds who look at the works and say, we love your work, but we're really depressed 'cause so little has changed. So the fight, the fight continues. | |
| [Amy Porteous] Linder is very well known for her impact on the punk scene in Manchester in the late 1970s. But since then, she's actually made increasingly botanical work. In the exhibition, you will see four brand new photo montages, all of which feature some of our stunning Rhododendrons from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We've also allowed the exhibition to spill out into the Garden. | |
| The exhibition is free. It's a really welcoming space. There is abundant wildlife all around you and abundant artwork inside and outdoors. | |
| [Linder] No matter where you're from, there'll be something here that will reasonate deeply and which you'll take away with you. |
Content warnings: Linder: Danger Came Smiling is recommended for audiences aged 16 and over. The exhibition includes depictions of nudity and images of a sexual nature.
