Joyce Mak: Photography with Marginalised Communities
In this episode, we talk with Joyce Y. T. Mak about community photography, participatory archiving, and ethical documentation. Joyce discusses how their work as a documentary photographer, digital archivist, and community organiser has been shaped by questions of representation, consent, and care. They reflect on photographing grassroots communities through long-term relationships, exploring how collaboration can extend beyond image-making into the archiving process itself. Joyce also considers the role of constraints in ethical photography, the challenges of preserving born-digital materials, and why ethics should be understood as an ongoing practice rather than simply a set of rules.
What you'll find inside:
‘I consider myself first a community organiser. The difference is that I have a camera with me.’ (8.12)
‘People often apologise for not wanting to be photographed... but you have every right to say no. You are taking part in the event—you haven't consented to having your image everywhere.’ (13.30)
‘Working with constraints can actually be quite fun... knowing who didn't want to be photographed changed how I composed the image, and I think the photographs became stronger because of it.’ (16.50)
On participatory archiving: ‘The approach to archiving should be needs-based... it's an invitation to involve the community in deciding what belongs in the archive and how those images are described.’ (32.30)
What does photography ethics mean to Joyce?
‘It shouldn't just be something that's on paper. It should be practice. It has to be something that’s integral to the practice of any photographer or anyone with a camera. You won't feel it when it’s done well, but you’ll definitely feel when it’s absent. For me, it comes down to remaining curious, reflexive, operating with integrity, and having enough self-compassion to recognise that ethical practice takes emotional labour—but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.’
Links:
Joyce Y. T. Mak is a documentary photographer and digital archivist whose practice focuses on racial and healing justice. They work directly with grassroots groups that are committed to challenging systemic inequities and prioritising a feminist ethics of care. Currently a Research Associate at King’s College London’s Department of Digital Humanities, they are co-developing situated and relational approaches to preserve and reactivate born-digital materials with UK-based diasporic groups. Their photography has received commissions and features from organisations such as Bow Arts, Studio Voltaire and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography.
You can see their work at https://www.jymak.com/