British artist Joy Gregory has opened her first institutional survey show, "Catching Flies with Honey," at Whitechapel Gallery in London, made possible by her winning the 2023 Freelands Award. The exhibition features over 250 works spanning four decades, including photography, film, installation, textiles, sound, and digital media. In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Gregory discusses her early image-making, her interrogation of portraiture, and a new film commission, "The Last Speakers," shot over 20 years with a San community in the Kalahari Desert.
The survey matters because it brings long-overdue recognition to a mid-career female artist whose experimental practice—expanding the definition of photography and exploring themes of language, identity, and vulnerability—has not received the attention it deserves. The Freelands Award specifically supports institutions in showcasing such artists, and Gregory's work, including her endangered language projects and self-portraiture series, highlights the importance of listening to marginalized voices and understanding the ethics of representation.