The Stable Gallery, in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, is set to launch a new group exhibition that investigates the complex relationship between what we see and what is missing.
Curated by sociologists Laura Harris and Maike Pötschulat, the showcase titled Absence runs from 5 June to 11 July 2026 at St George’s Hall.
The exhibition brings together the work of seven visual sociologists alongside local submissions to explore absence as both a social reality and a visual language.
Across more than 100 photographs, the show asks challenging questions about the documentation of things that are no longer there or people who are no longer present.
It examines how society perceives what is left behind or what never managed to come to fruition.
Curator Maike Pötschulat explained that absence is not synonymous with emptiness, noting that what appears to be missing often leaves a significant footprint on lives and societies.
Global Perspectives on Loss and Memory
The exhibition features diverse international projects, including Terence Heng’s study of a Chinese diaspora graveyard in Singapore and Setareh Kazemi’s photojournalistic focus on overlooked communities in Iran.
Manal Massalha’s Standing Tall series documents the active process of absenting inflicted on Palestinian lands, while David Schalliol’s work captures isolated buildings in Chicago as remnants of changing urban neighbourhoods.
Historical and political traces are further explored through Paweł Starzec’s muted photography of Bosnian War sites and Gesche Würfel’s research into the material and psychic remains of the Berlin Wall.
Additionally, the archive of Kyler Zeleny presents found polaroids that have lost their original owners, now accompanied by flash fiction written to reanimate their lost contexts.
Documenting the Liverpool City Region
The social and built fabric of the local area is represented through an Open Call for Photography of absence within the Liverpool City Region.
This call generated hundreds of images, with five finalists selected to have their work exhibited in print: Daniel Frost, Alishah Iqbal, Paradise Made, Dan Murphy, and Claire Weetman.
A wider selection of these local submissions will be displayed on a digital screen throughout the exhibition’s run.
The opening of the show coincides with the launch of a special issue of Open Eye Gallery’s magazine, TILT, which features commissioned texts and an expanded selection of images.
The exhibition is supported by several institutions, including Liverpool John Moores University and the British Academy, and includes a programme of public events such as curator-led tours and panel discussions.
The exhibition begins with a private view on Friday 5 June from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
During the launch weekend, visitors can join a tour with the curators and photographers on Saturday 6 June at 2:30 pm, followed by a panel discussion at Open Eye Gallery.
Further curatorial tours are scheduled for Wednesday 10 June and Saturday 13 June, providing deeper insight into the gaps and voids explored within the gallery space.
