Why Circus?
If you ask the average person on the street what they think circus is, you’ll probably hear the words clowns, elephants, lions, trapeze, big top, more clowns etc. The word circus invokes all sorts of childhood memories, red and white bunting, popcorn and candyfloss, orange wigs, the smell of wet grass, hooves on sawdust, feather headdresses and terrible music. This may be charmingly nostalgic, but circus has changed radically over the last twenty years and in our more enlightened times circuses full of lions and elephants are thankfully a thing of the past. If the world never sees two grown men in wigs and red noses stuffed into a miniature car again, then it’s a better place.
Circus used to be a very closed shop restricted to travelling family enclaves. It is now a creative path and opportunity open to anyone with the drive and determination to take part. With circus schools and groups open to people of all levels, Circus has finally thrown open its doors to anyone willing to get involved. Whilst it is still undoubtedly entertainment, it has also now developed into an art form. With far fewer fixed circus groups and far more individuals dedicated to perfecting their craft through rigorous training and endless practice.
“This collection sets out to help change how circus is perceived in the UK. No longer is it about clowns and lions, but the highly skilled individuals who dedicate their lives to producing remarkable performances.
Circus is about performances that tell a story combined with spectacle in order to entertain, provoke & question. A photograph can’t tell that story, it’s a moment in time and has its own narrative, driven not just by the image itself but by the viewer too
I wanted my approach to circus to reflect that individuality, that uniqueness, whether shot on location or in my studio, I strived to strip out the frills, fanfare and colour, and to drill down to the individual commanding their own space.”