Check-In, 2011. Joyce I.

London-based photographer Juno Calypso mutates into a horrifying caricature of feminine angst and exhaustion in her series Joyce I & II. Frequently compared to the ground-breaking work of Cindy Sherman, Calypso stages herself in a series of bizarre images saturated with pastel boredom and suffocating kitsch. Whether buried behind a desk in a twisted sense of 1980s independence or drowning in a plethora of pink beauty products, Joyce is both unresponsive and blank, staring at us with deadpan desperation. It is the juxtaposition of swallowing scenery and quiet emptiness that makes the work so unsettling. Calypso hints that the expectations of female perfection and beauty is not a history removed, but an ever-present burden to each new generation of women struggling forward.

Popcorn Venus, 2012. Joyce II.

12 Reasons You’re Tired All The Time, 2013. Joyce II.

Agency, 2011. Joyce I.

Reconstituted Meat Slices, 2013. Joyce II.

Massage, 2011. Joyce I.

Artificial Sweetener, 2012. Joyce II.

Disenchanted Simulation, 2013. Joyce II.

This post was contributed by photographer and Feature Shoot Editorial Assistant Jenna Garrett.