About
J.A. Young (she/her) is a trans, autistic photographic artist based in the American South. Since debuting her work in late 2023, Young was named a Runner-Up for the Foam Talent Award, shortlisted for the Les Rencontres d'Arles Author Book Award, and selected as the OD Prize Grand Prize Winner.
Young’s research-based practice draws on cultural anthropology, world mysticism, and the occult to critically engage contemporary socio-political and ecological issues. Thematically, Young’s work explores how humanity has abused its own technological innovations to seize control of an entire planet: from the cultivation of fire to the advent of agriculture, all the way to the nuclear era and the age of the internet.
Young produces unique and limited edition works on paper. Each piece belongs to an ongoing, ever-evolving body of work that Young divides into distinct phases or series — the first two of which are titled OF FIRE, FAR SHINING (2023-2024) and ANGELS (2024-present).
Selected AWARDS
2026-2027. Foam Talent Award Runner-Up, Foam.
2026. Photo Award Shortlist, Belfast Photo Festival.
2026. Sonntag Grant Shortlist, Sonntag Grant.
2025. Author Book Award Shortlist, Les Rencontres d'Arles.
2025. OD Prize Grand Prize Winner, Open Doors Gallery.
2025. Talent Award Winner, Fresh Eyes x Hungry Eye.
2025. Lucie Scholarship Finalist, Lucie Foundation.
2025. Runner-Up, InCadaqués Photography Festival.
2025. Black and White Photography Awards Finalist, LensCulture.
2025. Dear Dave Fellowship Finalist, Dear Dave Magazine.
2025. Photo Award Shortlist, Belfast Photo Festival.
2024. OD Prize Shortlist and Judge's Pick, Open Doors Gallery.
2024. Photography Grant Shortlist, PhMuseum.
Selected Exhibitions
2026. Angels, Open Doors Gallery, Online.
2025. Book Awards Exhibition, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France.
2025. OD Prize Exhibition, Open Doors Gallery, London, UK & Online.
2025. Lucie Scholarship Exhibitions, Lucie Foundation, Los Angeles, Samui, and Athens.
2025. InCadaqués Festival Edition 9, InCadaqués Photography Festival, Cadaqués, Spain.
2025. Hungry Eye Fair, Fresh Eyes x Hungry Eye, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2025. Disobedient Images, OFF Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France.
2025. I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe, Revela’t Festival, Vila nova i la Geltrú, Spain.
2024. OD Prize Exhibition, Open Doors Gallery, London, UK & Online.
2024. Verzasca Photo Festival, PhMuseum, Sonogno, Switzerland.
2024. Kranj Photo Festival, PhMuseum, Kranj, Slovenia.
2024. PhMuseum Days Photo Festival, PhMuseum, Bologna, Italy.
2024. Fotofestiwal Łódź, PhMuseum, Łódź, Poland.
Selected Publications
2026. Foam Magazine #68: Talent Issue, Foam Magazine.
2025. Fresh Eyes x Hungry Eye, GUP Magazine.
2025. Disobedient Images, Snap Collective.
2024. Of Fire, Far Shining, Zone (first edition, out of print).
Selected press
2026. Digital Feature, Foam Magazine Online.
2025. Featured Project, Figures Photography.
2025. Photobook Review, Discarded.
2025. Portfolio Feature, Float.
2024. “Dans l’œil de J.A. Young”, Fisheye.
2024. “Of Fire, Far Shining: l’effroi, vu par J.A. Young”, Fisheye.
2023. “Mysticism and the Occult: The Work of J.A. Young”, Musée.