Katie Waggett's best photograph: Sunday worship with Joy

‘Joy was dancing in church with her children in London. She was in her element – her dress speaks to her sense of cultural pride’

Her name is Joy and I photographed her outside one of the many African churches in south-east London. I had just finished photographing a mosque on the same bland industrial estate when I found the blue wall, then spotted Joy dancing in the church with her children. I thought: “That’s a portrait I’ve got to get,” and asked if she’d come outside and have her photograph taken.

Her dress speaks to her sense of cultural pride. She’s in her element, in church, in a place where she can showcase her Nigerian clothes. When you put that across in the divisive time in which we’re living, it paints a positive story about her identity as a Londoner, especially when you consider the wider context. Six countries in Europe have banned the burqa (16 worldwide) and Quebec has banned all religious symbols, but London has created spaces for people to celebrate their cultural heritage, and that’s special.

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from World news | The Guardian