Joy

Church was a source of frustration for me as a child.

I couldn’t understand why we had to wake up so early every Sunday to sing songs I didn’t understand, and recite words I didn’t yet believe. Something shifted, however, when I left for university, and what once felt like a chore became what I missed most. I found myself missing all of it; the people, the music, the rhythm of Sundays at home. Returning to Nigeria for Christmas, everything made sense again. There’s a special kind of joy that fills the air during the holidays; carols sung off-key but full of heart, children running around in full suits and dresses, the whole church saturated with warmth.

‘Joy’ is an excerpt from Time for Church, Abuja, Nigeria. It is the first printed photograph I ever sold.