The Other Side of Joy

“If I am like this for two weeks a month is that who I am?”

This particular sentence immediately captured my attention, I was browsing through a Google search for severe premenstrual syndrome and had just come across a condition called PMDD (Premenstrual-Dysphoric-Disorder).

I immediately recognised my self in most of the descriptions of symptoms, in the little information I could find and in the words of other women going through a similar struggle.

As I began making sense of what I have been going through,I felt compelled to create a body of work that would capture the fragility of these moments in a way that is also beautiful and poetic, to show that vulnerability can also be a strength, other than a cause of embarrassment and distress.

 

Through a series of self portraits, conceptual still lifes and drawing directly on my personal experience, this series  explores how hormonal shifts can affect women’s mental and physical health.

A woman in a soft white dress stands against a dark red textured background, holding a red butterfly over her eye. Her head is bowed and her arm cradles her midsection in a moody, poetic self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini.
Not in the Mood
Two hands floating in dark water surrounded by red and orange flowers and koi fish, symbolising the body's connection to nature. Conceptual art photograph by Anna Guadagnini.
From Water Springs Life
A woman folded over a marble table with her hand laying in front of her, red dry flowers scattered around. Her face is hidden by a glass bottle with water and a gold fish in it.
Like a Fish in a Bottle
Woman looking into a mirror while holding a magnifying glass over her eye, wearing a floral blouse. Conceptual self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini exploring emotional introspection and self-perception.
Mind Your Emotions
White painkiller capsules scattered among red dried flowers and a disassembled doll, symbolising migraines, womanhood, and hormonal imbalance. Conceptual still life by Anna Guadagnini.
Migraine
A woman lies motionless on a bed scattered with red petals in the woods at night, lit by a bedside lamp. Conceptual art photograph symbolising hormonal impact on sleep patterns in women by Anna Guadagnini.
Lethargy
Woman kneeling on a bed in the woods at night with red flowers in her hair and petals scattered around, illuminated by a yellow lamp — surreal fine art photograph exploring insomnia and emotional unrest.
Insomnia
A woman in a red blouse and black apron gently places a white flower stem into a mound of soil on a wooden table. Bees hover nearby, and a broken eggshell rests beside the bloom. Conceptual self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini exploring fertility and the natural cycle.
Queen Bee
A woman in a floral blouse is partially hidden behind a towering display of sweets, muffins, and grapes, reaching up to grasp a bunch of grapes. The table overflows with desserts, fruits, and savoury food in a visually rich conceptual self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini.
Uncontrollable Unger
Surreal self-portrait of woman behind shattered mirror fragments, surrounded by dried flowers, butterfly, and torn texts of women's experiences with PMDD and hormonal struggles.
Fragments
Woman in a vintage cream blouse pours red liquid resembling blood from a floral teapot into an overflowing teacup, surrounded by dried flowers. Conceptual self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini.
On Days Like This
When Autumn Comes
Conceptual still life by Anna Guadagnini, part of The Other Side of Joy Series, symbolic of hormonal changes through the menstrual cycle with egg, butterfly and pomegranate.
A Cycle of Death and Rebirth
Woman lying on forest ground with a large red leaf covering her face, surrounded by delicate hands of a child, wearing a vintage floral dress — symbolic conceptual portrait about motherhood and emotional retreat.
Where No One Can Find Me
A woman with dark hair and closed eyes is submerged in water among dark red lily pads and wilted petals. Her shoulder emerges slightly above the surface, wrapped in a patterned fabric, in a poetic conceptual self-portrait by Anna Guadagnini.
Deep Breathing
Woman in a red dress with a frosted glass globe over her head standing in a snowy forest — whimsical fine art portrait symbolising emotional isolation and identity.
Ice Bloom
Woman figure behind a dusty, cobwebbed window holding a red balloon — surreal self-portrait symbolising isolation, misunderstood emotions, and the psychological impact of hormonal changes.
Misunderstood