Northern Diary

First UK institutional solo exhibition by Scottish photographer brings together a snapshot of life post-Brexit across Scotland’s cities, rural locations and coastal towns.

Stills - Edinburgh’s centre for photography - are pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in a UK public gallery of work by Scottish photographer Robbie Lawrence.

Northern Diary, brings together a selection of work that Lawrence has produced over the past seven years, many of which have never been seen before in a gallery setting. Subjects include landscapes, portraits and still lives made across Scotland’s cities, rural locations and coastal towns. Rather than a documentary assignment on post-Brexit Britain, Lawrence’s approach to producing the exhibition has been to interweave the narratives and relationships of people and places to convey a humanist affirmation of life north of the border, against the backdrop of the broader social and political climate throughout the UK. Included in this exhibition are photographs from Lawrence’s series A Voice Above The Linn, documenting his visits to the home and garden of Jim McTaggart who died in 2019. McTaggart was a botanist, climate activist and the creator of Linn Botanic Gardens on the Rosneath Peninsula in the West of Scotland. The exhibition also includes the first gallery presentation of Lawrence’s new short film, Blue Bonnets, commissioned by The New Yorker.

Robbie Lawrence is a Scottish photographer born in Edinburgh and now based in London. After finishing school, he completed an arts scholarship at Hamilton College, New York and studied English Literature at the University of St. Andrews. Initially pursuing a career in journalism, Robbie began a Photo Editor traineeship at The New York Times in Paris, where he completed his first editorial assignments for clients including The New Yorker, Le Monde and the Financial Times.