Zula's documentary practice is influenced by her own experience as a migrant moving from Poland to the UK. She draws a lot of creative inspiration from her upbringing and heritage, and explores themes of displacement, gender identity and LGBTQI+ communities. Her practice highlights the complexity of identity, by honouring and prioritising stories through an intentional approach. Her photographs seek to offer a space for conversation and community building, often incorporating archival images and documents to challenge conventional visual story-telling norms
Zula's work has been exhibited and published internationally. She has also won the AOP Talent Award and the PDN Award and is a recipient of the MEAD Fellowship and Getty Images Grant, which have enabled her to document contemporary gender identity in Eastern Europe.
She has always been interested in storytelling, having obtained a BA in English Literature in French and an MRes in Postcolonial French literature from the University of Warwick. She also hold an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the London College of Communication.
Her work was selected by the OPEN20 Moving Image, shown at Winchester Gallery and Enjoy Museum of Art Beijing in China.She has been nominated for the Budapest International Foto Awards, Moscow International Foto Award, Prix Levallois, BarTur Photo Award Leica Magazine Photojournalist of the Year.
Her work has been featured by numerous publications such as the BBC, The Guardian, The Calvert Journal, The Culture Trip, Reckless Magazine, South West Collective, Photograd, She’s Got Wonder, Saigoneer, Café Babel, Stories from Poland, The First News, Coolura24, and Londynek.net.
Zula co-founded the Red Zenith Collective, a platform for womxn and non-binary creatives from Central and Eastern Europe.
Alongside her practice, She also works as a photography lecturer at Kingston University, and a visiting lecturer here at HCA.
