British artist Lee Maelzer opened her exhibition Hayden at Cable Depot Gallery in Sofia on 29 October, a show that runs until 21 November and examines how human presence is rendered in abandoned urban spaces, BTA reported.
The show is curated by Iavor Lubomirov, who said the exhibition “explores human presence, intimacy and the relationship between people and space.” It is part of a larger project called “In the Process of Translation – The Periphery at the Center,” funded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture under the 2025 Open Call for Visual Arts, according to the gallery.
Maelzer’s work often features empty staircases, ruins and interiors where the human figure is absent yet traces of presence linger. In Hayden, the artist places her model, Hayden Hughes, at the centre, using Hughes’ poses and compositions as a way to “paint her own presence for us through the figure of Mr. Hughes,” Lubomirov writes.
The curator noted that the exhibition’s focus on loneliness, social inequality and alienation matches Maelzer’s interest in the “muted colour palette and cinematic compositions” that dominate her oeuvre. She has exhibited internationally, including at the National Portrait Gallery in London and received the Abbey Fellowship at the British School at Rome in 2004.
