Friday, 6 June 2025 | Join us for an exhibition tour with artist Simon Lehner and Shoair Mavlian, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, in celebration of Lehner's first UK solo exhibition, Of Peasants & Basterds.
About Simon Lehner
Working across sculpture, painting, film and installation, Lehner’s practice delves into the psychological ramifications of contemporary digital culture. Utilising a blend of personal archives and publicly sourced online imagery, Lehner constructs avatars that inhabit complex narratives, reflecting on themes such as trauma, family dynamics and the influence of technology on the human psyche.
Lehner's recent solo exhibitions include Of Peasants & Basterds, Edel Assanti, London, UK (2025); Clean Thoughts. Clean Images, Foto Arsenal Wien, Vienna, Austria (2025); My Mountain Has No Summit, KOW, Berlin, Germany (2024); and I love you like an image, Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany (2023).
About Shoair Mavlian
Shoair Mavlian is Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, appointed in 2023. She was previously Director of Photoworks, where she oversaw exhibitions, commissions, publishing, and the biennial festival.
From 2011 to 2018, she was Assistant Curator of Photography and International Art at Tate Modern, curating major exhibitions including Don McCullin (2019), Shape of Light (2018), The Radical Eye (2016), and Conflict, Time, Photography (2014).
Named one of Apollo magazine’s 40 Under 40 Europe – Thinkers in 2018, Mavlian has a background in fine art and history of photography, with a focus on 20th-century and contemporary practices exploring conflict and memory.
From 2011 to 2018, she was Assistant Curator of Photography and International Art at Tate Modern, curating major exhibitions including Don McCullin (2019), Shape of Light (2018), The Radical Eye (2016), and Conflict, Time, Photography (2014).
Named one of Apollo magazine’s 40 Under 40 Europe – Thinkers in 2018, Mavlian has a background in fine art and history of photography, with a focus on 20th-century and contemporary practices exploring conflict and memory.
