In Between Gallery: Sorry About That
Mikael Buck
Showing until summer 2026 is Mikael Buck’s image, taken from his series, Sorry About That (2019-2024).
Sorry About That is Mikael’s deeply personal visual diary, made over five years as he confronted the long-standing impact of his father’s disappearance and a childhood overshadowed by deception. Initially turning to photography as a way to avoid difficult conversations, he hoped for a small collection of images that might shield him from scrutiny. Instead, the project evolved into a raw, fragmentary exploration of grief, guilt and identity, rendered through photographs captured primarily with his smartphone and occasionally altered using AI.
The image selected for display in the Fabrica window shows the artist peering through a painted slate sculpture, originally created in response to unspoken memories. Left to weather in his garden, the sculpture was later rediscovered and photographed as part of a series exploring concealment and reflection. The image edges are expanded using generative AI, raising questions about memory, authorship, and photographic truth.
Despite its often playful tone, Sorry About That is a sincere apology from Mikael to himself, his audience, and his family for the times he wasn’t fully able to show up. While his partner and children remain unseen in the images, their emotional presence is palpable throughout. With motifs ranging from self-portraits and vivid flowers to household objects and insects found on day trips, the work reflects a man grappling with inherited notions of masculinity, vulnerability and redemption. Through these imperfect images, Mikael searches not for resolution, but for the permission to remain unfinished.
The In between Gallery is supported by Photo Fringe, Spectrum Photographic and Jane & Jeremy.
About The Artist
Mikael Buck (b. 1982) is a British visual artist born in East London and based in Epping Forest, Essex. His approach is rooted in the interplay of mediums and the tension to be found in the gaps between them. Mikael identifies as a photographer in both ethos and focus and is inspired by the ways in which photography can be juxtaposed with text, illustration and digital manipulation to bring its authority and meaning into question.
Over the past decade he has created an archive of book dummies, text, illustration, collage, digital manipulations and photography that he draws upon in his autobiographical work. Mikael’s narratives are based on his family’s history and a childhood spent moving frequently between Essex and Marbella, Spain. His work seeks to recreate the gallows humour that was the backdrop to his chaotic, fun, but intense family life.
In 2024 Mikael exhibited Sorry About That at the Photobook Cafe in Shoreditch, London and the project's book dummy was selected to be part of the Dummy Award 2025.
Mikael was one of three recipients of the Best Portfolio Award at the 10th Anniversary edition of Photo Meet in 2025. His work also won the Garlic Parr award for best portfolio at 2021 edition of The Sicily Photo Masterclass with Aaron Schuman, Katy Hundertmark and Mimi Mollica. The Garlic Parr was began by Martin Parr in 2020.
In a career lasting over 20 years, Mikael's work as photojournalist and commercial photographer has featured in hundreds of publications globally.
Fabrica
40 Duke Street, Brighton
BN1 1AG
“The images in Sorry About That were made at a time when I felt an almost constant compulsion to address my past, but was held back by a debilitating fear of being vulnerable. I sought solace in making playful imagery and in the comforts of home and family life. The images are an inadvertent diary of five years spent chasing shadows, playing hide and seek with myself, searching for photographs that could magically solve all my problems, but never did.””
