Portraits from the Threshold

Portraits from the Threshold opens at The Vault Gallery on 1 October, running through to 15 October as part of Brighton Photo Fringe 2026. It's a collection of collaborative portrait work by Brighton-based artist and photographer Dr Gil Mualem-Doron, curated by Jean Wachter. The show brings together ten years of his practice, which sits within the 'Feedback Loop' theme of this year's Fringe.

What sets this apart from standard documentary photography is the relationship Mualem-Doron has with his subjects. Rather than just stepping behind the lens, the people he photographs help decide where and how they're shot, what they wear, and what they choose to reveal. They also have a say in how their stories are shared. It's a collaborative way of working that puts the control in the hands of the people in the frame, rather than just the person taking the picture.

His work touches on displacement, queerness, environmental fragility and collective storytelling, and he's a member of the Sussex BPOC Photography Collective. The exhibition also pulls in his wider socially engaged projects, which have been shown in England, Palestine, Germany, Brazil, South Africa and Sri Lanka. One of those is a story about two gay friends in Cape Town, Mihlali and Lelethu, who posed as a couple.

The gallery is The Vault Gallery, 42-43 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2LN. If you want to catch the opening, there's a private view on 3 October from 3pm to 5pm, and the show stays open until 15 October.