The exhibition will arrive in Liverpool this September
The Cunard Building in Liverpool, where the art exhibition will take place(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A groundbreaking art exhibition is set to open in Liverpool’s historic Cunard Building. Developed in collaboration with Merseyside-based community arts organisation Heart of Glass, Close to Home, the exhibition will explore stories and the impact of suicide.
It has been created by award-winning artist Mark Storor as an integral part of the collaborative arts project, The Suicide Chronicles.
Taking place between Thursday, September 3 and Saturday, October 10 2026, including World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) and World Mental Health Day (October 10), Close to Home brings together more than seven years’ work by Mark, in collaboration with communities and individuals across England, Ireland and Wales with experience of suicide.
CEO of Heart of Glass Patrick Fox said: “When we started the project with Mark in 2018, we had no expectation of how long it would last or where it would take us.
“We quickly realised after the first Chronicle this was an artistic interrogation we had to carry forward to encompass as many voices and experiences as possible, to give them the time and space to be seen and heard.
“The subject of suicide, its impact on self, family, on nation, on people and communities the world over is a fundamental part of life. Through each of the six Chronicles we’ve worked with 50 people who have been impacted by suicide, and with research showing that one suicide can impact approximately 135 people, it’s a heartbreaking statistic.
“Each Chronicle or ‘chapter’ is uniquely defined by the experience of the individuals who made them and the time in which they were made.
“While they are different in content, they speak to each other collectively to give form to the infinitely complex and multi-layered nature of bereavement by suicide. The seventh chapter is Close to Home.”
Mark’s process of co-creation and collaboration has developed a multifaceted residency in the Cunard Building, which is animated throughout its duration, including live performance, poetry, music, film, digital installations, sculptures, animation and photography.
Mark Storor said: “Close to Home will bring all six Chronicles into one space, addressing together, for the first time, what is happening in our communities as the result of suicide.
“Like suicide, Close to Home is not an end but part of a continuum. The courage to meet the stark realities of suicide head on began in St Helens and gained momentum; a ripple effect generated through the numerous stories I am humbled to have had shared with me.
“It’s the journey we’ve been on, the people we’ve met and worked with, the years that have passed, and the moments that have led to the here and now. It’s a contemplation, a philosophical space, an exploration, an interrogation, and it’s as much about life as it is about death.
“Visitors will be able to explore their relationship with self, with one another, with those across the world, hopefully to value what fundamentally connects us all as humans.
“I hope that those who have been impacted by suicide will gain a strength from collectively witnessing together the stories of others and understand that art can have a role in all our lives for gaining renewed outlook, relief, strength and remembrance.”
