British artist Lee Maelzer unveiled her new exhibition "Hayden" at Sofia’s Cable Depot Gallery, a show that places the human figure at the centre of abandoned urban environments and uses them to interrogate social isolation and inequality. The exhibition runs from 29 October to 21 November 2027 and is part of a larger project funded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.
“Hayden” uses the human figure – the model Hayden Hughes – as a focal point in otherwise empty, ruined interiors that have been the constant backdrop of Maelzer’s work for more than fifteen years. The artist’s own earlier paintings, collages, and experimental films often examine the traces that people leave behind in staircases, abandoned rooms and vacant lots, but in this new work Hughes becomes a tangible presence in cinematic compositions that echo Maelzer’s muted colour palettes. By bringing a living figure into these spaces, Maelzer illuminates how loneliness and social inequality manifest in the architectural voids of the modern city.
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,
— Iavor Lubomirov, curator of "Hayden".
Lubomirov, who first organised a solo exhibition for Maelzer at the beginning of his curatorial career, has long noted the artist’s keen eye for the interplay between space and human absence. The exhibition’s curatorial text also states that the show invites viewers to see the artist, the model, and themselves as part of an encounter that transcends the confines of the abandoned setting.
Maelzer, originally from London, studied at Central Saint Martins and holds a master’s degree in painting from the Royal College of Art. She has exhibited abroad, including at London’s National Portrait Gallery, and received the Abbey Fellowship at the British School at Rome in 2004. After decades of academic and artistic work, she currently teaches fine art at the University of East London.
“Hayden” is part of the "In the Process of Translation – The Periphery at the Center" project, an initiative of the Bulgarian Literature Foundation that receives funding from the Bulgarian Culture Ministry under the 2025 Open Call for Visual Arts. The project aims to promote works that portray life on the edge of conscience and highlight the unseen or often forgotten aspects of society.
Exhibition Context and Technical Approach
Maelzer’s work on the human form involves a process that merges observational study of untouched environments with deliberate composition. She typically relies on a repository of photographs and sketches taken during field appointments in abandoned buildings. These image records serve as reference data that shape her paintings, collages, and projected films, taking the form of a visual dataset that the artist then reorganises into a narrative about human affect.
In "Hayden," the artist leverages a similar matrix of source material: photographs of empty stairwells and ruined foyers, alongside staged photographs of Hughes in accordance with the chosen poses. The resulting objects blend the built environment with the physical presence of the model, creating a hybrid form that invites viewers to interrogate the boundaries between a deserted space and an occupied one. The muted color scales – bruised blues, dusty browns, and pale grays – and wide, almost cinematic frames further emphasise the sense of melancholy that underlies the exhibition’s thematic core.
Social Commentary Through Urban Aesthetics
By showcasing Hughes in spaces that once stood empty, Maelzer underscores how urban neglect becomes a breeding ground for loneliness and social exclusion. The artist’s approach mirrors a sociological method of spatial analysis, wherein environmental features are examined for their impact on human experience. In this case, the empty interiors act as a physical metaphor for the isolation experienced by marginalized communities within the urban fabric.
The choice of a single model not only provides a constant visual anchor but also suggests that the problem is universal. Hughes’ poses throughout the exhibition reflect various levels of detachment, ranging from claimants of the space to bags of resignation, telling a visual story about how people interact differently with their surroundings.
For viewers, the exhibition offers a series of moments where the perception of the environment before and after the addition of a human figure is enough to induce a powerful shift in emotional resonance. That shift positions the work within a broader conversation about how visual strategies can be used to make socio‑spatial inequality visible to an audience that might otherwise overlook such phenomena.
“It takes a step from absence to presence to take on a new narrative,” the curator adds. In effect, the artist demonstrates that a carefully curated, physical representation can act as an effective medium for increasing public awareness about the conditions of neglect that pervade many parts of urban life.
As the exhibition unfolds over its four‑week run, both local audiences and international visitors will be invited to experience how space, figure, and narrative combine to reveal a more complex reality of modern cities. The message is clear: the quiet spaces that surround us hide stories, and it is important to bring those stories to life through thoughtful artistic practice.
