The wandering exhibition „a way of(f) photography“ showed three different series of Joy´s experimental and extended photography. Joy studied under the famous documentary photographer Heinrich Riebesehl, worked on documentaries for a long period of time and finally exhibited large format b/w prints at the BAUHAUS/Dessau. Now, this exhibition shows works only, that go beyond the scope of classic photography. Cibachromes of scratched slides as in „Scheinsucher“ (seekers of glory), fragmented and hand painted 4×5 inch negatives from the series of „Extended portraits“ and the multi-layer negative collages of „the archaeographiccycle“ on greek mythology. 
The exhibition was presented at the „Centre for Photography as an Art-form“ in Mumbai, the „MMB Photo Gallery“, New Delhi and „Max Mueller Bhavan“, Bengaluru in march, april and may 1996. An exhibition catalogue was published with support of the agency pool.communication and the Goethe-Institut.
photography
Extended portraits – „a way of(f) photography“
catalogue „a way of(f) photography“
Joy always was interested to cross the borders, to break the rules, developing new forms of artistic expression. He studied photography under Heinrich Riebesehl (1938 – 2010) and learned the whole spectrum of classic b/w fine-art photography. But beside the studies, Joy partly destroyed the negatives (mostly 4×5 inch large format) to add new layers of information to the image. He scratched the surface, added ink and other structures to the negatives, thus creating a new technique between photography and etching. Developing the large scale prints on photographic paper himself, he also experimented with different chemicals and exposure tricks.
Within several series in black and white, he elaborated this technique and showed the works to an astonished photographic scene in Germany and India in 1996.
„Scheinsucher“, „Seekers of glory“
Every year, long before christmas, the holy consumerism takes over the public space. With „Scheinsucher“, 1994, Joy intended to use the stressed christmas shoppers as a projection screen for a series of scratched slides. Finally, no shop-owner wanted Joy to install his projectors in his display windows. So the series had to be presented as 30 x 40 cm Cibachromes in gallery spaces instead of an installation in public space.
„The consecrated night as a staged dream in a staged room. The ritual decoration of the fir-tree, for a common cause or secretly; candlelight, overheated rooms (today we should feel warm), childrens welcome. Well come ! Except: no welcome at wrong mooments. No disturb please, the illusion is fragile, no arguments today. Let´s hug and be kind to one another.“
excerpt from catalogue „A way of(f) photography“, 1996
„the archaeographic cycle“, negative-collages
For the poetry book on greek mythology „Firniswasser – und Zeiten zu Schwärze geschliffen“ of Peter Grabowski, Joy developed a technique which reminds of an archaeological excavation. The negatives of the archaeographic cycle are arranged in several layers: prepared fragments of negatives, foil-copies of antique elements, scratching structures and ink drawings.
The positive print brings the different layers up to the surface like epoches of archaeological stratums and gives isolated informations to those who know how to read them.
The viewer is now left to himself to dissolve the component parts out of the whole composition to read them isolated and/or in context with the whole like an archaeologist reads the field.
„Firniswasser – und Zeiten zu Schwärze geschliffen“, 114 pages, 16 illustrations, LEO-Verlag, 1993
Explografie – Photography at BAUHAUS/Dessau
Photography at BAUHAUS Dessau
Shortly after the Berlin wall broke down, Joy travelled extensively through the eastern parts of Germany to create an impressive black and white documentation.
Among other exhibitions, he together with other photographers presented a documentary of east german coal industry at the famous BAUHAUS, Dessau.
Art and related activities of Joy Lohmann 