Veil

Long-exposure photographic works, 2021–ongoing

Veil developed from my earlier Winterbloom series, in which I used long exposure, movement and translucent fabric to explore transformation through photographic abstraction. Over time, the figure became increasingly present and the work shifted inward, towards questions of identity, cultural inheritance and the experience of living between places.

In Veil, I am both the artist and the sitter: a solitary figure partially concealed by fabric. The veil becomes a threshold between what is visible and withheld, present and remembered. Drawing on my Polish heritage and experience of migration, these self-portraits consider the parts of identity we inherit, carry and continually reconstruct.

The work references Polish cultural and historical motifs, including the Warsaw Nike monument, a symbol of victory and resilience. Yet Veil speaks not only to the past, but to my present experience in Australia – an ongoing negotiation between old and new, memory and change, belonging and displacement. Through the body, movement and abstraction, the work considers how identity is continually reshaped by what we inherit, what we leave behind and what we carry with us.

★ Veil, White Finalist Omnia Prize (2025)
★ Veil, White Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize (2024) 
★ Winterbloom #34 Winner, Linden New Art – Play Award (2024)

Currently on show at my Montsalvat studio