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In the eighties, Joy Gregory was enrolled at the RCA together with fellow creator, who was putting together a Black photography exhibition. “He asked me to submit some work,” says the 65-year-old artist.

While Piper admired her work into colonialism, racial issues, identity, and aesthetics, the organizers turned down her submission claiming it did not seem “Black enough.” One must recognize the atmosphere of that era,” she states. At the time, I was taking pictures of botanical subjects. For me, you have the freedom to create whatever work they choose. Limiting what is acceptable, you start to censor yourself.”

Understanding the possibilities of photography has always been central to her practice. Her journey began with self-representation and experimentation. The 1990s piece titled Autoportrait—featuring nine monochrome self-portraits—is among her best-known works.

Gregory’s body of work spans still-life, portraits, film, and textiles, addressing subjects like selfhood, collective history, and language heritage. Over two hundred and fifty pieces will be displayed at her career survey named Catching Flies With Honey in London’s prestigious gallery from October.

A particularly meaningful new piece has taken 20 years to finish. “The new commission focuses on research I have been doing from 2003 on endangered languages,” she says. “I’ve collaborated with a particular community and families for more than two decades. Many of the individuals I worked with have died, so it was important to create an object to show them.”

Hailing in England in the late 1950s to Jamaican parents, Gregory was artistically inclined from a young age. Gregory drew, made clothes, and devoured constantly. “We resided close to a bookbindery, and when volumes were discarded, I would retrieve them,” she said. Her first camera became a significant gift by her family.

Her goals remain simple: “My aim was simply to produce meaningful art.” The artist values experimentation and manual craftsmanship rather than flawless tech. “With modern photography, each image can be pristine. But I’m drawn to the concept of human intervention—each print being unique and unrepeatable.”

Featured Pieces from the Show

Memory and Skin, 1998
It constituted the initial major commission I undertook,” notes the artist. “It examined the relationship between the West and the Caribbean region. Growing up in a Jamaican household in Europe, you become speaking two languages, bicultural. This piece focused on looking between both worlds.”

The Fairest, 1999
Gregory became interested in why people would want to become blond,” she comments. She selected individuals from various European and diverse backgrounds to talk about their perspectives.”

The Blonde, 1997–2010
Around 1998, we saw suddenly many non-white individuals sporting blonde hair,” she recalls. “They were challenging ideas of identity and beauty. Some angry reactions in chatrooms, but it proved intriguing to see them playing with self-identity.”

The Handbag Project, 1998–present
The purses are sourced back from abroad,” says the artist. “I wanted to do something tactile, using salt printing. Every result became a unique outcome.”

Language of Flowers, 1992–2004
This choice of cyanotype was fitting because it is a Victorian technique,” Gregory states. “It references plant-based traditions and the our desire for permanence in a fragile world.”

The exhibition will be on view at the gallery from 8 October through 1 March.