Finding Jacky Linney… and Tony

Two years ago I wrote about Bob Linney, opening with: “I didn’t think I knew Bob Linney. It turns out though that I did—he was the mysterious designer behind a print that had been hanging in our house for some time. Bought by my wife from an antiques centre several years ago… I’ve been staring at it over breakfast ever since. Unsigned, I was intrigued who had designed the poster, and despite many Google search terms, I couldn’t find out… That was until two weeks ago in a bittersweet moment of discovery and loss when I read Bob Linney’s obituary in The Guardian.“

This discovery has since turned into one that is a lot less bitter, as it has been my absolute pleasure to meet and start working with artist and Bob’s widow, Jacky Linney, and one of his best friends, Tony Casement.

Tony contacted me after he and Jacky had read my article. They were both touched by my words, he said, and asked if I would be interested in writing something for an exhibition they were planning of Linney’s work. I couldn’t say yes quick enough.

We have met several times in the last year and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to see much of Linney’s archive, still in his old studio, as Jacky sorts through it for the exhibition. The more I see of his work and hear about his many projects, the more I think he deserves greater recognition. And other graphic design experts I have spoken to about him agree.

The exhibition is scheduled for May 2026 at The Cut arts centre in Halesworth, Suffolk, where Tony is chair of the board of trustees. As I expected, what was first proposed as a bit of writing has expanded, happily, with me also helping with ideas for the exhibition, agreeing to design a catalogue, and discussing the possibility of taking the exhibition to Birmingham, where Linney first turned his hand to print making in the early 1970s when studying for a PhD in genetics.

Some of what I thought about Bob Linney, guessed at from a distance, has since been confirmed by Jacky and Tony in our conversations. He was anti-elitist, a bit of a philosophical anarchist, and passionate about the environment. Like many designers who eschew the idea of being an artist, he rarely signed his work, so on a recent visit to Jacky’s, finding an ‘artist’s proof’ with his signature on was something of a surprise. This pride in his discipline, and belief that graphic design can be a force for change, is something that endears him to me even more. It is such a shame that he isn’t with us to help with the exhibition, but as Tony said, it is only possible to put this on without him around as he would never have agreed to it.

Jacky has also found some of the work done on his Health Images trips to developing countries, promoting the use of ‘people-centred visual aids’ to help communicate important life-saving messages. I learned today that he had hand built a screen printing bed with tin cans filled with sand as weights, that would pack up to be carried around remote villages all over the world as part of these trips. Sadly, this is no longer around, as it would have been a great feature in the exhibition.

Given Linney’s dramatic use of colour, it has been really interesting to see black and white work as well. That you can still see the pencil outlines he has inked in on some of them brings you closer to the man, and Tony and Jacky have agreed to having a table of some of his drawing materials and roughs as part of the show to help bring his process to life.

I am honoured that Jacky and Tony have chosen to call the exhibition Finding Bob Linney, after the title of my first post. Given his relative obscurity in the design press, this feels fitting, as for many this may be the first time they have come across his name and work.

There is a lot to research over the coming months in preparation for the exhibition, from his Health Images charity to the Contemporary Music Network he produced work for, and from his days at the ArtLab in Birmingham to the more recent Suffolk focused work, and much more besides. He was an active blogger at one stage as well, so I’ll be trawling his site for more information, reading words direct from the man himself.

To me, it feels like there is a real currency to Bob Linney’s work, and I don’t think that is just because I am seeing so much of it at the moment. Maybe this is because it is so distinctly different from any current graphic design or illustration trends, it stands out. One of his posters for a UB40 tour came up, uncredited, on the Twentieth Century Posters website recently, and it grabs your attention there as well, amongst all the other historical prints for sale. (It has since been credited to Linney appropriately on an Instagram post.)

And given all the bands he has produced work for, the exhibition is also going to have a killer soundtrack.

I’m really looking forward to seeing this exhibition come together between now and May, but more than that, I’m really happy to be working with Jacky and Tony.