Something Like Joy

We are living in uncertain times when joy can sometimes feel harder to find. So, thank you for sharing so many stellar photographs that celebrate being human. It was wonderful to see the range of work submitted from around the globe, as well as so many images that celebrate the beauty and magnificence of our planet.

Joy is a complicated thing. It can be exuberant and spontaneous, but it can also be a quiet moment of connection, beauty, humor, or surprise. It can be found in the everyday or created entirely through imagination. Perhaps that is what makes photographing joy so interesting: there is no single way to see it, feel it, or picture it.

The photographs selected for this exhibition reflect a wonderfully wide range of interpretations of JOY, explored through process, personal experience, laughter, imagination, and strong visual narratives. Some find joy in the world directly in front of us, while others create entirely otherworldly places. Together, they reveal the many ways photographers can think beyond the expected.

There were so many fabulous photographs that I simply couldn’t fit them all into the exhibition. Thank you for the time, thought, and effort that went into each submission. Seeing so many interpretations of JOY genuinely lifted my spirits and reminded me that there is still plenty of it to be found.

Thank you to Decagon Gallery for the wonderful opportunity to spend time with your work. Your photographs gave me hope for our humanity.

Aline Smithson, September 2026