19 September 2025 |
Artists Inez and Vinoodh, Mickalene Thomas, and Trunk Xu use the newest iPhone to interpret the theme.
Each year Apple announces a new iPhone and with each release, the question most commonly posed is, “What’s the new camera going to look like?” Well, if you’re curious about the capabilities of the latest model, the 17 Pro Max, look no further than the brand’s exhibition “Joy: In Three Parts,”
For the second consecutive year, Apple collaborated with Kathy Ryan, former Director of Photography at The New York Times Magazine, to curate this international show, debuting today in London, Shanghai, and New York. The exhibition features works by acclaimed photographers Inez and Vinoodh, Mickalene Thomas, and Trunk Xu. Each artist was tasked with exploring the vast and deeply personal theme of joy. “I liked the idea that we could somehow give the artists a simple prompt with tremendous possibilities of interpretation, just expansive enough to have an open field to work with,” Ryan shared during a preview of the exhibition.
Each artist was given early access to the iPhone 17 Pro Max for their shoots, and the results are remarkable—both in subject matter and image quality. The artist duo Inez and Vinoodh present a series of five large-scale images telling the love story of their son, artist Charles Matadin, and his partner, Natalie Brumley. The three central images were shot in color and are framed by two black-and-white portraits of each individual—independent entities embarking on a shared journey of love and joy. Set in Marfa, Texas, you’ll find the couple partially veiled in red, symbolizing passion as well as caution. Against the backdrop of the desert and the seemingly abandoned town, the images evoke stills from a surrealist Western film.
Speaking about their creative process, the duo states: “Our work, however well planned, depends on improvisation. The iPhone’s immediacy and intimacy—while preserving the highest photographic quality—has been a game-changer for us.”
Mickalene Thomas’s photographic contribution is a love letter to Black joy, rest, and the radical act of simply being. Her nine black-and-white photographs, displayed on a freestanding wall in various sizes, create the sensation of peering through windows into intimate, everyday moments of joy. Despite some subjects being in motion, the images radiate serenity and peacefulness. “Too often, African Americans are seen through the lens of labor and endurance,” Thomas says. “This work counters that narrative, exploring rest as a form of resistance, power, and self-reclamation. It asks: What happens when we are allowed to simply be?”
The third part of the exhibition highlights Trunk Xu’s vibrant street photography, existing in the space between spontaneity and construction. The vivid colors immediately evoke joy and showcase the new iPhone camera’s ability to capture light and color on par with professional equipment. As a street photographer, Xu reflects on how subjects have changed in the age of the iPhone: once unaware of the camera, allowing for unguarded spontaneity, today’s subjects are ever-ready to be photographed. “This shared awareness, this readiness to be seen, unlocks a new age for photography—capturing the spirit of our time,” he explains.
With “Joy: In Three Parts,” images shot on an iPhone enter the realm of fine art photography. In turn, this offers anyone with the new iPhone the opportunity to explore photography as a creative expression—and to find joy in the everyday, simply by reaching into their pocket.
