Stuart Linden Rhodes
Stuart Linden Rhodes is a British photographer and writer who documented the lesbian and gay scene of the 1990s, working under the byline Linden. His photographs, now known collectively as the Linden Archives, form one of the fullest surviving visual records of the period, particularly in the north of England.
Career
Rhodes photographed and wrote for Gay Times and All Points North magazines during the early and mid 1990s, contributing scene reviews under the title Out & About with Linden. He worked across the north of England, from Birmingham to Newcastle, with occasional visits to London and Brighton for major events, building the archive over the decade from 1990 to 1999.[1]
He adopted the pseudonym Linden because he was working at the time as a lecturer at a further education college, and feared the consequences under Section 28 of being publicly identified.[2]
The Linden Archives
Rhodes digitised his negatives during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, at his home in North Yorkshire, and published the work through an Instagram account which has since attracted a substantial following. The digitisation led to press interviews and to appearances on BBC television and radio, and photographs from the archive have been acquired by Manchester City Art Gallery for its permanent collections.[1]
Two photobooks have been published. Out & About with Linden: A Queer Archive of the North appeared in 2022, with a foreword by Harry Clayton-Wright and contributions from Boy George, Paul O'Grady, Julian Clary, Su Pollard, Heather Small and others. Linden Archives followed in 2024, published by Pariah Press with a preface by Russell Tovey, extending the coverage across the United Kingdom and including images that had been removed by Instagram's moderation.[3]
Subjects photographed over the decade include Derek Jarman, Peter Tatchell, Julian Clary, Paul O'Grady, Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Take That and East 17, alongside the club and pub scene the archive was principally made to record. Rhodes also photographed the 1994 Gay Lifestyles Exhibition at Earls Court.[3]
External links
- stuartlindenrhodes.com
- Pariah Press
- @linden_archives – the archive on Instagram
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Linden Archives, Stuart Linden Rhodes.
- ↑ Out & About with Linden: A Queer Archive of the North, Pariah Press.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stuart Linden Rhodes: Linden Archives, The Photographers' Gallery bookshop.