Installation view of *Linder: Danger Came Smiling.* Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.

Linder Sterling, known professionally as Linder, stands as one of Britain's most influential feminist artists, whose work seamlessly bridges punk aesthetics, feminist critique, and avant-garde sensibilities. Since the 1970s, her provocative photomontages and performances have challenged societal norms and reshaped the landscape of contemporary art.

Emerging from Manchester's vibrant punk scene in the mid-1970s, Linder's artistic journey began amid the industrial decline and cultural upheaval of Northern England. Her early work was deeply influenced by her surroundings - the collision of punk music, fashion, and radical politics that defined the era. Danger Came Smiling, a retrospective of Linder’s work, opened at the Hayward Gallery, London on February 11 covers this early work through to her most recent work, dealing with ‘deep fake’ imagery.

Installation view of *Linder: Danger Came Smiling.* *The Liverpool Sphinx,* (2025). Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.

Linder's most recognisable works are her photomontages, which masterfully appropriate and subvert images from fashion and domestic magazines. By juxtaposing consumer goods with pornographic imagery, household appliances with feminine bodies, she creates powerful commentary on commodification and gender roles. Her iconic 1977 piece used for the Buzzcocks' Orgasm Addict single cover - featuring a naked female body with an iron for a head - remains a defining image of punk feminist art as well as featuring on the Hayward’s exhibition poster.

We have framed countless Linder photomontages over the years and we were thrilled to be able to frame her photomontages for Danger Came Smiling. The works were mounted within thick museum mounts and housed in a combination of simple black wooden frames and Linder’s signature aluminium frames in black, gold and silver with 99% UV protective Artglass.

With the benefit of seeing these works up-close, it’s clear what sets Linder apart is not just her political message but her technical sophistication. Her photomontages display a surgeon's precision and a poet's eye for meaningful juxtaposition. She transforms found materials through careful excision and recombination, creating images that are both beautiful and unsettling. This attention to craft ensures her work succeeds both as political statement and as pure visual art.

See our videos of the Linder exhibition here.

Linder is represented by Modern Art and the Hayward gallery shop has two sets of signed limited edition edition prints available for pre-order, along with exhibition posters. Let us know if you would like to frame yours! (Link to email)

Linder: Danger Came Smiling at Hayward gallery, London from 11 Feb - 05 May 2025

An adapted version of Linder: Danger Came Smiling, curated by Hayward Gallery Touring, tours nationally to Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; and Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool in 2025 – 2026.

Framing Linder: 'Danger Came Smiling'