Instructions Not Included started as a project to raise the visibility of people going through menopause and to change our perceptions of what menopause actually looks like. Disorientating and absurd, I've heard over and again how powerful menopause can be too, enabling us to change our lives in ways we never thought possible - often while navigating a ridiculous list of symptoms. 

I've been lucky enough to be joined by the brilliant Abigail Fahey, exhibiting alongside with Take Twice Daily Until Silent, responding to the silence around early menopause and medical gaslighting, and reclaiming dignity through shared visibility and connection.

The project features in this documentary broadcast on Arte and HiP article from Ferdusara Ali here.

Press release with further details below. IG: @abigailfaheyphotography  @sampaynephotography

PRESS RELEASE

Two Photography ExhibitionsBreak the Silence Around Menopause

Take Twice Daily Until Silent & Instructions Not Included

Electro Studios Project Space, St Leonards-on-Sea, 17–19 October2025

Raw portraits and  surprising stories put menopause centre stage at PhotoHastings 2025

These side-by-side exhibitions at Electro Studios capture the grit,  absurdity and unexpected freedoms of menopause through portrait and  story.

This October, photographers Sam Payne and Abigail Fahey present two bold new exhibitions at Electro Studios Project Space  as part of PhotoHastings 2025. Together, their work strips away  clichés and shows menopause as it is lived: chaotic, disorientating  and sometimes unexpectedly liberating.

At a time when menopause affects half the population yet remains  largely invisible in public discourse, these exhibitions offer an  unflinching look at lived experience through art.

• Take Twice Daily Until Silent by Abigail Fahey responds to the silence around early menopause and medical gaslighting, reclaiming dignity through shared visibility and connection.
• Instructions Not Included by Sam Payne uses stark black-and-white portraiture and first-hand testimony to explore menopause as both surprising and transformational. Visitors will be invited to add their own experiences on the wall, so the exhibition keeps growing throughout its run.

Running side by side, the shows invite audiences into an honest  conversation about a life stage experienced by millions yet still rarely seen in public.

A private view will take place on Friday 17 October, 6-9pm followed by a panel talk taking place on Saturday 18  October, 2-3pm featuring participants from the exhibitions in an  unscripted conversation about the realities of menopause. Expect  unvarnished truths, wry observations and the stories that need to be  heard.

Quotes

Abigail Fahey: "Too many women are dismissed or silenced  when it comes to menopause. This project is about taking back the  narrative, making those experiences visible, and connecting through  art."

Sam Payne: "Menopause can feel like lonely chaos, butit can also be a revolution. The collaboration with participants has resulted in photographs and stories that showing our reality:disconcerting, absurd and transformative - without stereotypes and  clichés."

Practical Information

• Dates: 17-19 October 2025
• Private view: Friday 17 October, 6-9pm
• Panel talk: Saturday 18 October, 2-3pm
• Venue: Electro Studios Project Space, Seaside Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0AL
• Admission: Free
• Festival: Part of PhotoHastings 2025

Notes to Editors

• Abigail Fahey brings 13 years' documentary photography experience. Her Take Twice Daily Until Silent has been exhibited at University of the Arts London, demonstrating institutional recognition for this important work.
• Sam Payne brings 20 years' experience in documentary film, including the Sundance Audience Award-winning The Reason I Jump. Instructions Not Included was recently featured in ARTE's Hot Change documentary, broadcast across Europe in 2025, a further 128k views on youtube
• Both projects are presented as part of PhotoHastings 2025, the annual contemporary photography festival for the South East.

Press Contacts

Sam Payne — sam @sampaynephotography.com

Abigail Fahey — abigail @abigailfaheyphotography.co.uk 

Further Links

https://www.electrostudiosprojectspace.co.uk/

https://www.abigailfaheyphotography.co.uk/projects

https://www.sampaynephotography.co.uk/

https://www.photohastings.org/2025-contemporary-photographic-festival/

IN BRIEF

InstructionsNot Included & Take Twice Daily Until Silent

Two  powerful photography exhibitions by Sam Payne and Abigail Fahey  capture the grit, humour and unexpected freedoms of menopause through  portrait and story. Part of PhotoHastings 2025.

ElectroStudios Project Space, St Leonards-on-Sea | 17–19 October 2025 |Free entry

Privateview: Fri 17 Oct, 6–9pm | Panel talk: Sat 18 Oct, 2pm