About:

I am a Latvian photographic artist based in West Yorkshire, UK. My work delves into both personal and universal themes, exploring the nuances of human relationships, transformation, and lived experience. Through intimate portraiture, self-exploration, and documentary-style photography, I capture the quiet yet profound moments of being human. I explore themes of growth, identity, motherhood, and the passage of time, inviting viewers into deeply personal yet universally resonant narratives. Rooted in my Latvian heritage and shaped by my life in the UK, my photography serves as a visual meditation on home, memory, and change. Whether through raw self-portraits or evocative landscapes, I challenge conventional narratives and embrace the beauty of imperfection.

Each piece is an invitation to pause, reflect, and find meaning in transition.

I am the winner of Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival Prize 2022 and was shortlisted for BJP Portrait of Britain 2023. My work has been exhibited at Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography and at the Open Eye Gallery as part of the Collective Matters exhibition.  I have held a number of residencies, including at Outlandia in Scotland. I have extensive experience in community engagement and arts education. I was Arts Outreach Coordinator at Locws International and currently work at the University of Salford.

Art In Liverpool Review: I became a mother

Open Eye Gallery: A Spotlight on Lasma Poisa

The Mill Article: How do you persuade ordinary Mancunians to let you photograph them in their houses? Their cats

Culture Warrington press release for I became a mother

Lāsma Poiša on Redeye 

Lāsma Poiša in Outlandia

Education:  

2018-2020 MA Socially Engaged Photography Practice with a Community Experience, University of Salford

2008-2012 BA (Hons) Photography in the Arts, Swansea Metropolitan University

Exhibitions:

2024 Returnings solo exhibition - Imaginary Wines, Todmorden

2024 Salford Open group exhibition - Salford Museum, Salford

2024 I became a mother solo exhibition - Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, Warrington

2023 FILM group exhibition - Format International Photography Festival, LCB Depot, Leicester

2023 Mother Earth event exhibition - HOME, Manchester

2023 Artist/Parent group exhibition - Air Gallery, Manchester

2022 Warrington Open group exhibition - Warrington Museum and Art Gallery

2021 Collective Matters group exhibition - Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool

2020 MA Socially Engaged Photography Graduate Show - New Adelphi, Manchester

2019 Disclosures Up North group exhibition - PS Mirabel Gallery, Manchester

2016 Process group exhibition - Bankley Gallery, Manchester

2016 Helpful Change group exhibition - Havas Lynx, Manchester

2015 Volunteer group exhibition - Venture Arts, Manchester

2013 Apophany Artists in Residence exhibition - Dynevor Centre of Art and Design, Swansea

2013 From Common Differences group exhibition - Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography, St David's Hall, Cardiff          

2012 Final Degree exhibition - The Old Truman Brewery, London

2011 The Fall group exhibition - Dynevor Centre of Art and Design, Swansea

Commissions:

2024 Author portraits and book cover commission for Jenn Ashworth’s The Parallel Path, Sceptre

2023 Bolton At Home Portrait Commission, Blackley, Manchester

2023 Mothers Who Make Commission, HOME, Manchester

2020 Portrait Photography Commission, Touchstones, Rochdale

Publications:

2025 I became a mother (Self-Published)

2023 Portrait of Britain Volume 6 (Bluecoat Press)

2023 Eye Mama: Poetic Truths on Home and Motherhood (teNeues)

2016 Nido Magazine (Germany)

2013 From Common Differences (Swansea Metropolitan University)

Contact:  lasma . poisa @ gmail . com