Dagmara Metel is an artist who uses photography as a medium of expression to explore memory, identity, family and belonging. Drawing on her experiences of growing up in Poland, her work considers how childhood, family relationships and the places we come from continue to shape us. She is interested in Postmemory - the parts of the past that remain present, the stories people inherit, and how experiences pass between generations.

Working across digital and analogue photography, Metel combines staged imagery with processes such as cyanotype and alternative printing techniques. Her practice extends beyond the photographic image to include physical prints and tactile objects. The monochromatic palette that characterises her practice evokes nostalgia, melancholy and longing, while leaving room for curiosity and uncertainty. Her work draws on childhood, domestic spaces and familiar situations, using play and imagination to approach difficult subjects indirectly. The contrast between the lightness of her imagery and the experiences beneath it allows her to explore complex emotions without presenting them in a literal or definitive way.

While rooted in personal experience, Metel's work reaches beyond her story. By leaving space for different interpretations, she invites viewers to recognise their own past, reflect on what has shaped them, and consider the histories they carry.