#circusrenz

Congratulations to Sigrid Debusschere, for winning this month’s ‘Signs’ challenge! 

Circus Renz, Cadzand, The Netherlands, 2019

Sigrid, a street photographer based near Brussels. submitted this photo which stood out to us for a number of reasons. The sign plays a significant role in the image, and the setting, subject, and black and white rendering all give it a timeless quality, especially after learning that ‘Renz’ is a circus. And the figure in the bottom-right corner really grabs your attention. 

Sigrid provided this description of the photo and her series, ‘Hidden Magic’:

“This image is part of my work ‘Hidden Magic’. Living in a circus means traveling and entertaining, in costumes and glittery suits, with hoops and trapezes, in a community where animals belong to the family. But what happens behind the scenes, after the applause, usually stays out of sight.

“With this series, I wanted to show circus artists in their dignity. I traveled for more than a year photographing various circus families. In order to broaden the view of these communities, I captured what is not part of the spectacle, the moments when the entertainers are no longer watched. I wanted these photos to reveal their strong sense of tradition, their daily lives, and the stories between the acts. 

“Light and shadow are dramaturgical elements from the circus that I make grateful use of as a photographer. Just as the arena delimits the place in which circus acts take shape, I use the camera’s framing to stage the scene. In this way I also put the characters in relation to their environment and each other. Each photo tells its own story. Together they read like a book, whereby the viewer can also fill in the space between two photos. Characters become persons, real people.”

Here are a few more from this project.

Circus Stromboli, 2019

Circus Franco Belge, 2019

Circus Renz, 2019

In 2021/2022, Sigrid’s solo exhibition ‘Hidden Magic’ will be touring Belgium, going to 18 locations in 18 months. More images from this project can be found on her website:  https://www.sigriddebusschere.com  Thanks for sharing this beautiful work with us, Sigrid, and congrats again!

Website:   https://www.sigriddebusschere.com

Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/sigrid_debusschere/