I came to photography from a literary background. Literature has informed my practice and allowed me to look closer at the relationship between written and visual expression, and ways of articulating emotions as well as constructing narratives. I use prose or poetry as a basis for creating multi-layered visual stories through which I explore the ideas of home, identity, social exclusion as well as the poetics of endurance and existence.
I also carry out an emotive interrogation of my Polish heritage. In particular, I focus on the ramifications of war, the long lasting effects of the destruction of the Jewish communities and mass migration. Following on Dorothea Lange’s conviction that no country has ever closely scrutinized itself visually, I excavate backyards in Poland, preserving stories of those who have been silenced. In Britain, which became my home fifteen years ago, I turn my camera on fellow migrants, social dynamics of assimilation and exclusion, reflecting on how much the notion of a foreigner has changed in the last decade.
E X H I B I T I O N S
2020, Jul: Ways and Means Exhibition, SKELF Virtual Project Space
2020, Jun-Jul, Mirrors and Reflections, International Group Exhibition, Millepiani Exhibition Space, Rome, Italy
2020, Jun: Part of the video screening of 200 photographers selected by FORMAT at the Auckland Photo Festival, New Zealand: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBYgUHLIWsS/
2020, Jun: A Moment of Zen Digital Exhibition, presented by Exposure Photo Festival Canada and Contemporary Calgary https://www.instagram.com/p/CBE6bRzJXqq/
2020, Feb-March: Focus on Photography, group exhibition, the Heseltine Gallery, Middleton Cheney, Banbury
2020, Feb: Annual Show, group exhibition (Oxford Photographic Society), SOOM, Woodstock
2019, Dec: Showcase, group exhibition, Ayres House Studios, Wallingford
2019, Dec: SPC Photo Awards Geneva, Humanit'Art Gallery, Switzerland
2019, Nov: 'Night', international group exhibition, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow
2019, Jul-Nov: 'Lande: Calais ‘Jungle’ and Beyond', group exhibition, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
2019, May-Jun: 'Woodland', group exhibition, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
2019, Feb: 'Urban Geometry', joint exhibition with Magda Wolna, Andrew Wiles Building
2018, Dec: 'In Solitude', solo exhibition, The Fairway Gallery, OUP, Oxford
2018: Annual Show, group exhibition (Oxford Photographic Society), Andrew Wiles Building
2018, Jun: 'Crossing Borders. To Calais and Back', solo exhibition, Bartholomew's Room, Eynsham
2018, May: 'Surprise!', group exhibition, Oxfordshire Art Weeks
2018, Apr: 'Chacun est libre d'être libre', competition winner, Gdynia and Gdansk, Poland
2018, Feb: Annual Show, group exhibition (Oxford Photographic Society), North Wall Arts Centre
2017, Jun: 'Sophie in Her Own Words', solo exhibition, Albert Sloman Library, Colchester
2017, Jan-Mar: 'Nature', group exhibition, Museum of Natural History, Oxford
2016, Nov: Photox group exhibition, The Barn Gallery, Oxford
2016, Oct: 'Sophie in Her Own Words', solo exhibition, Wandsworth Town Library, London
2016, Jun: 'Sophie in Her Own Words', solo exhibition, Fairway Gallery, OUP
2016, Feb: 'Haunted by Words', competition winners, Bucks County Museum, Aylesbur
P H O T O G R A P H Y A W A R D S
2020: Winner of the #glitch competition organized by Ffotogallery Wales
2019: Shortlisted for the She Performs exhibition at the Glass Tank Gallery, Oxford
2019: Selected for the Portfolio Review at INTERPHOTO Photography Festival, Poland by Maira Dudareva, director of the Museum of Photography in Latvia and April Gertler, artist and founder of PICTURE BERLIN
2018: Winner of the Think Human Photography Competition
2018: Winner of Chacun est libre d'être libre competition
2017: Winner of the Oxford Reading Competition, Fairlightbooks
2017: 2nd place in Everyday Heros, Digital Photographer, PhotoCrowd competition
2017: Winner of Nature competition, OUP
2017: Best New Comer Award (Oxford Photographic Society)
2017: Winner of the Passing of Time competition, BPI
2016: Special mention in the Photography! competition, BIPP
E D U C A T I O N
Polish Literature and Linguistics, MA, University of Gdansk, Poland
English Literature and Linguistics, University of Gdansk, Poland
Seeing Through Photographs, Museum of Modern Art New York, six week online course
Activating Our Archives with artist and curator Sunil Shah, group project and workshops, Modern Art Oxford and Fusion Arts (online due to the COVID-19 outbreak )
Together Is Better, Creative Therapy with Laura El-Tantawy, individual online session
The Interval with Natasha Caruana and special guests, a month of online creative events
Work-Show-Grow. Money Workshop (with Natasha Caruana and Sarah Waldron), London, UK
Introduction to Narrative Photography (with Dara Scully), Domestika online course
Course on Funding, Shooting & Pitching Projects (with Peter Dench), After Nyne Gallery, London
Course on Photographic Essay (with Stuart Freedman), the Photographers’ Gallery, London
Studio Lighting Masterclass (with Magdalena Sienicka), private studio, Kettering, UK
Course on Making Photo Books (with Laura el-Tantawy), the Photographers’ Gallery, London
Retouching and fine art post-production (with Karol Kalinowski), Zlodziejewo Photography Courses, Poland
PhotOx photography course (with David Tolley), University of Oxford, UK
Member of the Oxford Photographic Society
T A L K S & P R E S E N T A T I O N S
Crossing Borders, Reaching Home. Multilingual Poetry Translation Workshops, Oxford Translation Day (in collaboration with Kasia Szymanska, expert in translation studies)
Phantom Pains. A Personal Journey into Poland’s Past and Present, Oxford Photographic Society, January 2019
Working on a Long Term Project, PhotOX Photography Classes, December 2018
Sophie’s Story, Essex University, March 2017
Sophie’s Story, Wandsworth Town Library, October 2016
E X H I B I T I O N C U R A T I O N
curated sixteen exhibitions at the Fairway Gallery at OUP in Oxford.
collaborated with national and international artists, including Magda Berny, Wshear Wali, David Tolley, Bharat Patel, Magda Wolny and many others.
prepared promotional materials and promoted the shows on social media