Joy Gregory

b. 1959
United Kingdom

"I’ve always been really interested in the materiality of photography, and thinking of photographs as objects rather than just as images, because the substance the image exists on can be just as crucial as the image itself."

– Joy Gregory

Available Works
Grey Room with Janet

Joy Gregory

Grey Room with Janet, 1983

Transparency in lightbox
The Grey Room: Lie to Sit

Joy Gregory

The Grey Room: Lie to Sit, 1983

Transparency in lightbox
The Grey Room: Janet Standing Up

Joy Gregory

The Grey Room: Janet Standing Up, 1983

Transparency in lightbox
The White Room: Pen Torch and The Bed with Janet

Joy Gregory

The White Room: Pen Torch and The Bed with Janet, 1984

Transparency in lightbox
Dancing with Tulips

Joy Gregory

Dancing with Tulips, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
Magenta and Green: In Conversation

Joy Gregory

Magenta and Green: In Conversation, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
Magenta and Green: Leaving the Space

Joy Gregory

Magenta and Green: Leaving the Space, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
The White Room: Jane Twice in Grey

Joy Gregory

The White Room: Jane Twice in Grey, 1984

Transparency in lightbox
Blue and Yellow: Standing on One Leg

Joy Gregory

Blue and Yellow: Standing on One Leg, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
Blue Room: Back to Back in Yellow

Joy Gregory

Blue Room: Back to Back in Yellow, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
Blue Room: Back Standing

Joy Gregory

Blue Room: Back Standing, 1985

Transparency in lightbox
The White Room and Grey Dress

Joy Gregory

The White Room and Grey Dress, 1984

Transparency in lightbox

Biography

Joy Gregory is a multi-media artist, working across video, photography and print-making. Her work explores socio-political issues, centred in particular on race and gender, to examine history and cultural differences within contemporary society. Her research-led practice has looked at landscape, the relationship between humans and the natural world, collective memory and language endangerment. 

Gregory was born in the United Kingdom in 1959. She studied at the Manchester Polytechnic before going on to graduate from the Royal College of Art, London. Gregory has published several monographs throughout her career and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NESTA fellowship and an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in 2019. Her work has been exhibited at Camden Arts Centre, London, the Istanbul Biennial, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane and Impressions Gallery, Bradford. In 2025 Whitechapel Gallery, London will hold a major retrospective exhibition of Gregory’s career to date. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Government Art Collection, United Kingdom and the Yale British Art Collection, New Haven, among others.