Calypso

Ca • lyp • so

1. Name of various shades of eye shadows manufactured by cosmetic companies to evoke an exotic locale or a glamorous image.

2. A nymph and daughter of Atlas who falls in love with a married, shipwrecked of a man, Odysseus.

[From Greek root Kalupso, to hide, to conceal. To make secret.]

The illusion of desire is powerful but transitory, and the arc it traverses unvarying – the strong pull of seduction and allure at the beginning is tarnished over time as desire turns to neglect and rejection. Calypso traces this trajectory through two parallel story lines, that of women's cosmetics and of a love affair.

The book was inspired in part by an anonymous blog documenting an affair coming to an end, and also by friends and strangers who were more than happy to be rid of the eye shadows they no longer wanted.

Print Gocco, graphite, and eye shadow pigments bound in egg medium on Rives BFK; covered in clear plexi.

5.5" x 5.5" x 0.75" closed, extends to 99" long when completely opened

Regular edition of 13, boxed in Stonehenge Gray, $300, shipping & insurance + $5.

Deluxe edition of 6, housed in glamorous velvet evening bags, $400, shipping & insurance + $5.

The middle pages of the accordion front.

The last few pages of the accordion back.

The front plexi cover. The title is printed such that it is only visible through the shadow it casts.

Photo credit: Aaron Johanson.