Stuart Linden Rhodes
Stuart Linden Rhodes 'Linden' was the roving reporter for APN and the Gay Times during the early to mid 1990s. Covering mainly the north of England his columns for those magazines were titled: Out & About with Linden. The use of a pseudonym was due to concerns generated by draconian Clause 28 legislation sanctioned by the Tory government of the era.
Stuart Linden Rhodes was also a lecturer at a local further education college, the pseudonym 'Linden' adopted to protect his career in teaching.
At home in North Yorkshire during the covid lockdowns of 2020-21, Stuart Linden Rhodes established the Linden Archives, an online window into the thriving gay scene of the 1990’s. Scanning and digitising thousands of 35mm negatives of queer scene photographs. Not only to preserve his work but also to give the people in the photographs the opportunity to access them after almost three decades of them languishing in his loft. Linden Archives the Instagram account has since gained a substantial following and continues to grow.
Stuart’s photography seeks to encapsulate a people defiant in the face of the AIDS crises and discriminatory laws, alongside uninhibited photographs of such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Derek Jarman, Take That, Julian Clary, Peter Tatchell, Paul O'Grady, East 17 and many more. He photographed not only the nightlife but also major events such as Gay Pride and Mr Gay UK, exploring an explosion of growth in a diverse northern UK queer scene and club culture. A period which was also marked by HIV and AIDS, homophobia and discriminatory laws.
To date his photography has featured on BBC television & radio interviews and in numerous magazines and newspapers including The Guardian. Imagery from the archives have been exhibited at galleries across the UK from Elgin in Scotland to Blackpool, Coventry and London.
His photography has also been acquired by Manchester City Art Gallery for their permanent collection.
The Stuart Linden Rhodes archive is now part of The John Rylands Library collections in Manchester and available for research purposes.
On the 28th of June, Stuart Linden Rhodes will be sharing and discussing some pieces of his archives at the Shoreditch Site of The Common Press.
Come and join us for an evening of conversation, with a Q&A that will follow a slideshow of iconic pictures Stuart has taken over the years.