At 24 years old, Ghana-born Joy Gyamfi describes herself as a “Jack of all trades, mediocre at some.” During her two decades calling the Lower Mainland home, Gyamfi says she’s stuck to one belief: Anything she wants to do is something she can do. While she’s still working through her imposter syndrome, the queer black artist explained to SAD how community keeps bringing her back to her camera. 

SAD: How does being called an artist sit with you? 

Joy Gyamfi: It does feel weird to claim the title of an artist. Only recently have I really felt like I can call myself a photographer versus someone that takes photos. I have to remind myself that it's okay to claim that. 

SAD: What do you think the turning point was for you? 

JG: It's something I still struggle with to be honest. When I had some of my pieces exhibited, it started to feel real and tangible. Most of my work before then had been mainly on instagram and my website. It was such a surreal feeling to have the photos I had taken printed in a physical form and to see that on a wall.  To see that, I was like "Oh okay, this is real." 

SAD: When did photography come into your life?

JG: I've been taking photos casually since I was 12 years old. I just started taking photos of my best friend in our neighbourhood. I had stopped and started over the years, it kind of tied into that imposter syndrome because not feeling like I could actually be a photographer, artist, or whatever language.

SAD: What's your elevator pitch for the kind of photography you do?

JG: Community is something that's really important to me. It grounds me and everything that I do, and so a lot of my photography is community based. I prefer portrait style photography, and now, what I like to focus on is highlighting more marginalized communities. For example, my queer intimacies series looks at queer relationships and the multiple forms they can exist—between friends, lovers, individuals. 

SAD: What's it like being an artist right now — amid a global uprising against racism, during a pandemic, around pride month — there must be a lot of feelings you want to express!

JG: I think art plays an extremely important role, especially when we're thinking about current events. In relation to COVID-19, with more free time, people were able to consume more media—watching movies, TV shows, listening to podcasts and reading books. These are all things and content that are created and provided by artists. So I think it's important to note that in this time, art is what we're seeking either to give ourselves joy, or pleasure, or comfort in an otherwise really uncertain fraught and distraught time. 

The relationship between art and activism is important to highlight as well, because art can be used to start a conversation. Through public art for example, I've seen a lot of large displays of Black Lives Matter painted on streets. In terms of activism, I think we should go beyond conversation, we should be acting and try to make tangible change. But I think art can be used as a way to disseminate information. If you're looking at social media there's been so many graphic posts about what's going on. There's so many ways for art to be involved and tie into activism and I try to do my best in my role. I have some upcoming projects that I want to explore, like a black hair series, a series on tattooing on dark skin. I'm a black person and I have tattoos and all of them are currently black ink only, which is a conscious choice I've made because I'm aware of the lack of education around colour tattooing on dark skin. 

SAD: What stages are you at in terms of these projects?

JG: I'm definitely the kind of person that has a bunch of ideas all the time. I struggle to make them all become realities. Part of that is through funding. I find it difficult as a black queer person to find funding that is specific to marginalized communities and specific to digital art. So right now I'm in the process of applying for grants and funding, because I don't want to keep talking about my projects—I want to make them happen, and upgrade some of my equipment. 

SAD: What about photography captures your artistic message? 

JG: For me photography is really about highlighting and representing communities that are often marginalized and put to the side and are not celebrated. A really key part of my work is that I want people to see themselves the way that I see them. I'm often described as a cheerleader or a hype person to my friends. I'm really encouraging and I want my photography to be able to show people what I'm seeing. I've really struggled with self esteem and I find it's really easy to brush compliments off. But I feel like through photos, it's another tangible way to show someone "Do you see how great you look? This is how I see you, this is how others see you."

SAD: Do you have a project you're most proud of?

JG: My queer intimacies series, and it's ongoing. So I have a couple different installations of them. I work with a lot of different people within my community. It's the project that I started getting...I don't know if publicity is the right word, but it's when I started getting more out there. It was my first exhibit, which was a group exhibit, but still really exciting. I was so amazed that people came to see my art. I felt very seen and loved. 

SAD: What's your least favourite part of photography? 

JG: Indoor event photography. I really struggle with feeling like I'm showcasing an event instead of people themselves. I've decided I'm no longer going to do that. Photography is a really pleasurable experience for me, and I don't want to do projects just because of the money. So I'm putting my creative goals first.

SAD: How important is it to set boundaries as an artist? 

JG: Really important. So many people will ask things of artists or photographers or other creatives, assuming that it's easy, and I wish that there was more compassion and respect for what we do as people. It can be hard to set boundaries, especially for someone who feels like they're just starting out, even though I'm not, but you want to say yes to everything because it feels like exposure is a way to pay. I think that's problematic. I have a cheeky note on my website that says "If you mention exposure as a form of payment I will privately laugh at you and publicly drag you." That's just because we can't pay bills with exposure. You wouldn't offer a plumber exposure to fix your pipes, right? 

SAD: Do you feel like this moment in time is a pivotal point for you as an artist? 

JG: Absolutely, I really feel the need and desire to be putting out work that aligns with activism, and a way to combat anti-blackness and racism. Now is a time when these conversations are starting to become more global and more frequent. These are the times they're starting to gain traction, so I feel extremely motivated to put out work. 

SAD: Anything or anyone else you’d like to plug?

JG: The future is you and me is a program designed to support young women of colour to take on leadership positions in arts, cultural, and creative industries.

Some local black photographers and artists I love: Kriss Munsya, Michel Kamanzi, Nya Lewis, Joy Ngenda and Joshua Ngenda.

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