MA Photography Senior Lecturer launches major show at the National Gallery of Scotland
07 August 2026
Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror is the National Gallery of Scotland’s latest exhibition, charting 20-years of ground-breaking work by Falmouth’s MA Photography (Online) lecturer, Dr Wendy McMurdo. Having documented the experimental use of computers and digital tools within her photography from the mid 90s through to the present, the exhibition offers a unique insight into the impact of technology on learning and play in childhood.
On display from June to October, the four-month exhibition is the first time this ground-breaking work has been shown together in one single exhibition, giving viewers the opportunity to look at her work through a modern-day lens.
“It’s been wonderful to see this work come together in its totality for the first time, a collection that spans from 1995 to 2018. My work first begun in the mid 90s, when I was looking at the early introduction of computers. I wanted to explore this impact of change on children's lives during the very earliest dawn of the computer age, because they'd be the first generation who would feel the impact.
“At the time, of course, I didn’t think this would be a project that lasted for over 25 years, but as the subject evolved, it continued to grow in relevance. Play was changing. Now, with the legislation regarding screen time for children, it’s never been more relevant or interesting. It feels like a particularly apt time to revisit this body of work.”
Noting how her work is issues-based in its approach, Wendy reflected on how whenever something happened that felt relevant, from computers becoming the norm in the family home to the digital games children would play, it felt apt for the project to capture it. “I think what’s so interesting is that now it’s a subject that has grown; now more than ever there is a need for digital literacy for all of us.”
Alongside her photographic work, Wendy has curated a selection of pieces from museum collections that particularly influenced the works. Often pairing object and photograph side by side in dialogue with one another, these include artefacts from both museum and gallery collections, exploring the relationship between museum objects and the images they’ve inspired.
In her opening talk of the exhibition, held with writer and curator Susan Bright, Wendy explained: “Play is one of the biggest themes of the exhibition in various ways, as there are toys and objects from the Victorian classroom presented next to the introduction of the computer in primary schools.”
The exhibition opens with the image of a skater called Avatar (i), which is positioned next to the painting Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch (The Skating Minister) by Henry Raeburn. Wendy’s digital avatar is brought together with Raeburn’s enlightenment skater inviting us to consider the space between the two and our shifting relationship with technology and the world around us.
See the exhibition for yourself, on display at the National Gallery of Scotland until 25 October.
Further links
Listen to Wendy talking about the Digital Mirror
Read David Hopkins' essay on the exhibition
Read Patricia Allmer’s essay on Wendy’s exhibition
Explore more of Wendy’s work on Instagram
Photo credits (Left to right, top to bottom):
Wendy McMurdo, The Digital Mirror. Courtesy National Galleries of Scotland. Copyright: Trustees of the Paolozzi Foundation. Licensed by DACS, London.
Wendy McMurdo, The Digital Mirror. Courtesy National Galleries of Scotland.
Wendy McMurdo, The Digital Mirror. Courtesy National Galleries of Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries (City Art Centre).
Wendy McMurdo, Contact Sheets (detail). The Digital Mirror. Courtesy National Galleries of Scotland.
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