Joy’s photography and mixed media works demonstrate a palpable and authentic connection to place. Having familial links to Savannah and the Lowcountry has had a considerable influence on what she gravitates towards capturing in her art. Her family were stewards of Callawassie Island: agricultural laborers, hunters and fisherman, proud domestic women and family caregivers. This visual library that was introduced to her is the place she conjures inspiration from, it is the witness of water and land as a conduit to sustenance, stability, wonderment and peace. 

She also belongs to a generation when image making had become more accessible to the masses through the introduction of the Brownie, the Polaroid and Super 8mm. She was exposed to a visual world through a creative and enthusiastic family — chance storytellers who valued the provenance that photographic images afforded them. It imprinted upon her the importance of preservation through a creative relationship to culture, place, expression and memory. 

Learn more about photographer and designer Joy Dunigan online at www.joydunigan.com.

Facebook: @joyduniganartist
Instagram: @joydunigan