40/40 is a suite of prints created in 2013 celebrating Glasgow Print Studio's 40 years in existence. 40 artists associated with Glasgow Print Studio were invited to make editions of 40 prints in whatever print medium they chose.

A fascination with nature underpins Elspeth Lamb’s prints, complementing the artist’s interest in Baroque style and Victorian decorative arts. This lithograph is an extension of her ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’ series, named after the poems of 19th Century French poet Baudelaire. The image combines a thistle and a rose combined to create an unnatural species, a reaction against the plant classification defined by Victorian botanists. It was printed using a photolithographic process, with the key image printed using a traditional lithographic stone.

Elspeth Lamb was one of the first artists to use the Print Studio when it was set up in 1972, and has also worked as the Studio’s etching technician. She had solo exhibitions in the Gallery in 1990 and 1999.