In brief
From October 29 to November 21, Scottish-born Lee Maelzer runs the 'Hayden' exhibition in Sofia, Bulgaria, where model Hayden Hughes appears against the backdrop of deserted urban interiors. Curated by Iavor Lubomirov, the show builds on Maelzer's long‑term focus on emptiness and social inequality. The project, funded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, is part of the larger 'In the Process of Translation – The Periphery at the Center' initiative.
On Thursday, British artist Lee Maelzer opened her show "Hayden" at Cable Depot Gallery in Sofia. The exhibition runs from October 29 to November 21 and explores how people interact with abandoned urban spaces.
Maelzer has spent more than 15 years painting, collaging and making experimental film about empty rooms, stairways and ruins. Her earlier pieces show no people, but they capture the faint traces of human presence. In "Hayden," she flips the script and places the human figure at the center. Model Hayden Hughes appears in a series of poses that invite viewers to confront feelings of loneliness and social inequality.
Curator Iavor Lubomirov, who has long followed Maelzer’s work, says the show reveals a new dimension of her art. He writes in the curatorial text,
Just as she is able to paint human presence in an empty room, she is able here to paint her own presence for us through the figure of Mr. Hughes.
Maelzer was born in London, studied at Central Saint Martins, and earned her master’s in painting from the Royal College of Art. She exhibits worldwide, has taught at the University of East London, and was awarded the Abbey Fellowship at the British School in Rome in 2004.
"Hayden" is part of the project "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. The project aims to bring international artists into dialogue with Bulgarian contemporary culture.
