Internationally-recognised artist Linder has chosen The Grundy for her summer exhibition. David Simper hopped on a bus to the Queen Street gallery to see what it had in store
The guard at the Grundy Art Gallery has recently changed, and there was a bit of a buzz about the place as I took my usual service 61 bus to the Talbot Street stop and strolled down to Queen Street.
Linder: The Return of Linderland is a reconceived version of the artist’s landmark show ‘Danger Came Smiling’, which premiered at the Hayward Gallery in 2025 and has been touring the UK since, curated by Hayward Gallery Touring. It’s Linder’s first solo exhibition in the North West since 2000, with Blackpool chosen specially by the artist, who has roots in the region.
Linder first rose to prominence in the 1970s against the backdrop of the punk and post-punk music scene, fronting her band Ludus and creating a string of era-defining photomontage album covers for acts including the Buzzcocks – her work for their single ‘Orgasm Addict’ remains one of the most recognisable images of the British punk movement. In the five decades since, she has expanded her practice well beyond music, working across fashion, performance, perfume, textiles and film. Her raw, confrontational aesthetic draws on an eclectic mix of influences, from religious art and surrealism to mysticism, pornography and the imagery of social media.
The show brings together her trailblazing photomontages and early drawings with pieces from the Grundy‘s own collection and rarely-seen works by L.S. Lowry, on loan from The Lowry in Salford. A short film in the foyer shows Linder discussing her creative process – a useful way into the raw, DIY punk aesthetic that runs through the whole show.
The photomontage work is the real draw here: sharp, funny and unsettling in equal measure, and it sits surprisingly well alongside the older, more traditional pieces pulled from the Grundy collection.
There are also Brendel plant models on show – made in Germany by a father and son team, between the late 1800s and the 1920s, to help with teaching botany. They’re a bit creepy, almost triffid-like, but rather wonderful too.
Works like this light box piece can be contrasted with a traditional seascape from the Grundy collection below. Linder has been visiting Blackpool since the late 1950s, an annual family pilgrimage, and the Fylde coastline has a special resonance for her.
There’s further contrast with smaller pieces – sea shells photo-montaged onto female figures contrast with L.S. Lowry’s seascape – a favourite artist of mine, who lived near where I grew up in his later years. He considered this one of his best works; it faced criticism at the time, but close examination reveals a piece of incredible skill. Lowry’s surreal and distorted sketches of women also give a new perspective on the artist, especially if your picture of the painter is of hunched figures leaving a grim factory gate.
There’s really too much here to review systematically. There are references to the Shaker movement, founded by Ann Lee, a Manchester woman who moved to America and established long-lasting religious communities. Having tried working from the Shakers’ furniture patterns myself, this was of particular interest. Viewers should also look out for an interesting triptych featuring Brigitte Bardot, referencing the way her career and public persona developed over the course of her life. And below, Linder uses the surrealist technique of decalcomania, applying enamel paints to create new images, and shows them alongside Lisa de Montfort’s portrait of sculptror Josefina de Vasconcellos (below).
This exhibition just keeps coming at you – words are not enough to capture it, even with the photos to help. Worth a mention is the excellent short film featuring Blackpool people taking part in their wild west society – it inevitably uses a lot of slow motion.
This is a brilliant exhibition that coincides this weekend with the 30th anniversary of Rebellion Festival – its flag flying defiantly from the top of Blackpool Tower – demonstrating that the punk spirit is well and truly alive in Blackpool.
The exhibition runs until 3rd October 2026. Entry is free, and Grundy is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-4.45pm (last entry 4.20pm) – closed Sundays and bank holidays. Recommended for audiences aged 16 and over.
Main image: Linder, Head to Head, 2017, photomontage, 73 x 57.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Modern Art and Andrehn Schiptjenko. © Linder. Photo Robert Glowacki
