About ✹ Leïla Joy

I’ve been in love with stories as far back as I can remember, devouring books and falling head-first into the worlds within their pages. Words felt as necessary to me as breathing, and offering them to others was easy. But after years of suffocating in the rigid sterility of school and academia, writing sort of lost its magic. I became contented with reading what others had to say, only really pouring myself out over a keyboard when it was a matter of survival. (Generally late at night, heartbroken, anonymous on Tumblr. Something about being seen, but not too much.)

I turned to photography for self-expression, which quickly became my profession. And although I love the alchemy of it, of capturing sparks of life and light and making them tangible, there’s always been something else lurking there, crouching in the shadows. At first, it was so meek and quiet that I brushed past it, expecting it to get bored and just go away… but now it prods and paws at me, demanding attention. A bit of a nuisance, really.

This space is a tentative step into uncharted waters. I don’t have a plan, I have no clue what it’s going to look like, and I sure as shit struggle with the urge to immediately delete whatever I publish. There are so many exceedingly talented creatives out there that sharing my raw, dishevelled thoughts feels akin to coughing up a hairball on your mother-in-law’s lap or catching public transport naked.

Well, I hope you like mess and small tits, cos I’m doing the thing.

✹ Currently in Canada.

Contact: @leilajoy_