Juno Calypso (born 1989) is a British photographer. Her self-portraits are personal works about feminism, isolation, loneliness and being self-sufficient. Working alone, Calypso has made highly stylised photographs of herself whilst dressed as a fictional alter-ego, "Joyce", in unusual surroundings. She also works as a commercial photographer. Calypso was joint winner of the '' British Journal of Photography'' International Photography Award in 2016. In 2018 she received the Vic Odden Award from the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

Life and work

Calypso was born in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen E ...

in 1989. She gained an Art Foundation Diploma from Chelsea College of Arts (

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

) in 2008 and a BA in Photography from London College of Communication (University of the Arts London) in 2012. For her personal work, working alone Calypso has photographed highly stylised

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

s of herself whilst costumed as a fictional alter-ego, "Joyce", a "bored, frustrated, lonely housewife of her imagination", in unfamiliar, unusual and over-the-top surroundings. For her series ''Joyce,'' Calypso photographed herself in various hotel rooms. The work is about the "oppressive elements of femininity", its "restrictive beauty regimes and modern rituals of seduction". She has said "I'm trying to make a perfect photograph of a woman trying to create a perfect vision of herself." In ''The Honeymoon'' series, she photographed herself alone in an American couples-only honeymoon resort. Nell Frizzell wrote in '' The Guardian'' that "there is a sense of airless claustrophobia about much of Calypso’s work. But in the Honeymoon Hotel pictures, that frustration is twinned with loneliness." Alexandra Genova wrote in '' Time'' that her "work is a delicate dance between comedy and despair." Calypso has said:

I used to take pictures of Joyce as a way of making a critique on the laboured construction of femininity, but now I’m starting to see that the problem isn’t the make-up and bizarre body improvement devices, but the way society treats women who invest so deeply in their appearance."

She also works as a commercial photographer.

Publications with contributions by Calypso

*''The Catlin Art Guide: New Artists in the UK.'' Catlin Holdings, 2013. By Justin Hammond. . *''It's Nice That Annual.'' London: It's Nice That, 2013. *''Mossless 4: Public/Private/Portrait.'' Brooklyn, NY: Romke Hoogwaerts; New York: International Center of Photography, 2016. . *''Girl on Girl: Art and Photography in the Age of the Female Gaze.'' London: Laurence King, 2017. By Charlotte Jansen. . *''Firecrackers: Female Photographers Now.'' London:

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, 2017. By Fiona Rogers and Max Houghton. .

Short films

*''The Linda Evans Rejuvenique Facial Toning System'' (2012) *''Empty Pleasures'' (2012) *''The Making of Joyce'' (2014) *''The Honeymoon Suite'' (2015)

Awards

*2013: Winner, Visitor Vote, Catlin Art Prize, XL Catlin *2016: Joint winner, '' British Journal of Photography'' International Photography Award, for ''Joyce.'' The other winner was Felicity Hammond. *2016: One of 24 selected, Foam Talent Call, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam *2018: Vic Odden Award,

, Bath

Solo exhibitions

*Artist of the Day, selected by Tom Hunter,

Flowers Gallery The Flowers Galleries are two galleries in London (on Cork Street in the West End, and in Shoreditch in the East End) and a third in the Chelsea district of New York City. The three galleries represent over 60 artists. History The first F ...

, London, 2015 *''71a Presents: Juno Calypso,'' 71a Gallery, London, October 2015 *''What to Do with a Million Years,'' TJ Boulting, London, May–June 2018; Studio Giangaleazzo Visconti, Milan, Italy, 2018/2019

References

External links

*
"Juno Calypso's Five Favourite Objects"
for ''British Vogue'' (video)
Calypso talk for It's Nice That in 2016
(video)
Calypso talk for It's Nice That in 2017
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Calypso, Juno 1989 births Living people 21st-century British photographers 21st-century English women artists 21st-century women photographers Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the London College of Communication Conceptual photographers English women photographers Feminist artists People from Hackney, London Photographers from London