05/27/2026
Juno Calypso is known for her cinematic self-portraits in which she transforms into her alter ego, Joyce, a carefully constructed character often placed in uncanny, time-warped interiors. The persona Joyce inhabits a meticulously staged pink universe that explores femininity, solitude, desire, and despair around herself, suggesting a bygone era. Through this persona, Calypso examines the performance and artifice of femininity.
For this football-centered series, Calypso situates Joyce within a setting less pristine than her usual hyper-controlled environments, yet still saturated in pink. The pink color utilized in her photography work, also known as “Drunk Tank Pink,” emerged from 1970s behavioral research by Alexander Schauss, who theorized that the color could have a calming effect on people. Drunk Tank Pink was often used in prisons and psychiatric facilities to promote a less violent environment. It has even been used in Norwich City F.C. 's changing rooms by away teams to diminish the opposing team’s fighting spirit and gain an advantage.
These photographs were originally commissioned by OOF Gallery in Manchester, England.
