Through the Glass Lens brings together the photographers of Hay Camera Club and contemporary glass artists in a shared exploration of light, memory and perception.

Glass is central to both photography and glass making, not only as a physical material but as a way of shaping how light is gathered, held and transformed. In photography, glass lenses frame and focus the world. In glass art, the material itself bends, contains, reflects and refracts light, creating form through transparency and opacity.

In this exhibition, photography and glass are presented side by side, each approaching light from a different perspective. Photographic works capture powerful and memorable moments shaped by glass, from everyday encounters to extraordinary scenes, using light and timing to transform the familiar into something remarkable. Glass artworks, meanwhile, explore light as a material presence, where transparency and reflection allow light to shift, fragment and reassemble through movement, time and the viewer’s position.

Through the Glass Lens invites viewers to reconsider how they look, becoming more aware of the ways glass mediates vision, memory and experience. Seen together, these works reveal how light passes through materials and moments alike, shaping what we notice, remember and carry with us.

The exhibition will also include a ticketed glass making demonstration and workshop led by Charlie Burke and Amelia Skachill-Burke, alongside a photography workshop delivered by Hay Camera Club.