The Photographers’ Gallery Autumn 2025

Zofia Rydet: Sociological Record 10 October 2025 - 22 February 2026

Opening this October at The Photographers’ Gallery, Sociological Record is a landmark photographic project undertaken by Polish photographer Zofia Rydet. The series is a comprehensive documentary portrait of Polish domestic life which spans decades, eras, regions and cultures.

Starting in 1978, aged 67 years old, Zofia Rydet (1911-1997) set out on a mammoth task to photograph the inside of ‘every’ Polish household. Motivated by a desire to capture the ordinary, unsung populations, particularly of the countryside – but also covering towns and cities – Rydet would become increasingly obsessed with her mission to record the cultures and people that she sought out.

Creating over 20,000 images, many of which by the end of the project were never printed – Sociological Record is a monumental project and one of the most important achievements in 20th century Polish photography and is the first substantial exhibition of Zofia Rydet’s Sociological Record in the UK.  It focuses on the small proportion of rare prints she made from the series in her home darkroom, including the significant ‘People in Interiors’ works, and other sub-series such as ‘Women on Doorsteps’ and ‘Presence’. 

Boris Mikhailov: Ukrainian Diary 10 October 2025 - 22 February 2026

Ukrainian Diary is the first major UK retrospective of work by Boris Mikhailov (b.1938, Kharkiv). One of the most influential contemporary artists from Eastern Europe, Mikhailov has explored social and political subjects for more than fifty years through his experimental photographic work.  

From early underground works and images of everyday life in Kharkiv, to his self-depreciating self-portraits which mock traditional Soviet masculine stereotypes, Mikhailov creates an ambiguous, fragmented view of a world in constant flux. His photographs contradict the one-sideness of Soviet ideology, especially during the time when photography was heavily controlled and censored in the Soviet Union. 

Ukrainian Diary brings together work from over twenty of Mikhailov’s most important series, including Yesterday’s Sandwich, I am not I, Salt Lake, Red, Sots Art, Luriki, Case History and Theatre of War.  His uncompromising, subversive work is a powerful photographic narrative on Ukraine’s contemporary history.  

Tickets - include entry to all exhibitions on the day of your visit 
£10 / £7 concessions (members go free) 
Advance online booking: £8.50 / £6 concessions 

Venue details