Hughmanity
Lisson Gallery
27 September – 1 November 2025
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ART/EXHIBITION
Vol. 6
Hugh Hayden Hughmanity


Returning to London for the first time since his 2020 exhibition that was abruptly cut short by the pandemic, Hughmanity by Hugh Hayden (b. 1983) marks a continuation and a transformation in the artist’s practice. Known for his sculptural language that blends natural materials with social and cultural allegory, Hayden once again uses wood to confront the contradictions of belonging, faith, and identity. Compared to his previous works, Hughmanity feels more introspective, as though the chaos of the material has been guided to reveal the narrative. 



Hayden, who trained as an architect before turning to art, has always worked with the dualities of structure and nature. His wooden constructions serve as metaphors for social systems - all reconfigured to expose their hidden narratives. In Hughmanity, those stories manifest through a language of religious and civic symbolism.   

In Hughmanity, The Last Supper (2025) serves as the centerpiece of his exhibition at Lisson Gallery. The work features a long dining table that has been stretched and distorted by surrounding flames. “Dining tables are not only sites of joy and communion but also of fraught family gatherings, unspoken grief, or absence,” Hayden reminds us. His sculpture reimagines Leonardo da Vinci’s canonical Last Supper, but instead of depicting figures, Hayden presents a scene of flames rising from the table, serving as a metaphorical boundary. By transforming the table, a symbol of unity and togetherness, into a site of distance and disconnection, Hayden evokes scenes of collective loss. 




Hayden’s The Good Samaritan (2025) turns the familiar biblical story into a sculpture that feels fragile, yet dangerous. A small boat is lined with sharp thorns “carved from Christmas-tree branches,” pointed inward toward the boat’s center, creating a sense of danger. Only a limited smooth path inside the boat allows for navigation, suggesting fragile and small space for hope and survival amid threat. The sculpture hints at real-world struggles, finding safety in difficult circumstances. 







Pinocchia (2025) blends innocence and danger in a single form. 
A child’s dress made of soft pink tulle is layered with rough bark, blending delicate and harsh materials in a way that feels protective and threatening at the same time. It looks like something meant to protect, but the bark also feels hostile and unwelcoming, embodying the precariousness of vulnerability.