Brian Morgan ARPS

Statement Of Intent

These images - part of an ongoing project - were taken as I journeyed with a small travelling circus.

They were shot during breaks in-between performances; in the changing and warm-up area behind the Circus Ring, the space immediately outside the Big Top and in the caravans laagered alongside. Caravans are symbolic of the impermanence of circus life. But grouped in this way they also came to represent the strength of the circus 'family' whose bonds extend far beyond kith and kin.

It was in these locations that the artistes would rehearse, relax, and snatch a few moments with their children. I tried to impart visual meaning to these brief moments, alongside the pre-performance tension and post-performance fatigue, which accompanied every show. Combined, these elements bring into stark relief, the story of Circus; a story of constant movement, hard work, ever-present danger, bound together by 'family' and belonging.

This GIF is for representation of the Sequence only. It does not reflect the image quality seen during the assessment.

These images represent only a very small part of an ongoing project which to date has encompassed over two years travelling with the circus. Some of the images were shot using available light, in the near blackout behind Circus Ring where pre-performance tension and post-performance fatigue, coalesced with an omni present sense of danger. The circus story is one of constant movement, whose artistes from every continent move constantly from place to place a Diaspora of diversity, whose home is everywhere and nowhere. Above all, the Circus story is one of family, whose arc extends far beyond kith and kin.