Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
Gelatin silver print / variable size
“First, entering the circus, there… we always come across the double gate, behind which stands the keeper of the Circus observing us from a crystal ball
… … …
Look at me: I am the mistress of gymnasts, clowns, young girls – jumping and flying. They are all my toys, just for my delight, but I let you come in anyway.”
Ramón Gómez de la Serna, “El Circo” – 1917
My work about the circus started in 1997 in Milan; sharing the journeys of three Italian circus families: the Franchetti (Circus Barcellona), the Casartelli (Medrano) and the Togni (Darix Togni and American Circus). Year after year, I was able to see new things through the perspective of the caravan’s life. The bonds forged inside a circus family became familiar to me.
Sometimes the big top was transforming itself; becoming a magical entity and disclosing an unexpected reality, while revealing to the circus children their own craft and destiny.
As Fellini said: “… the acrobat, the magician and the lion trainer represent eternal values: force, courage, rigor, physical ability.” But the clown is making fun of everything, and questioning the human being about the fragility and absurdity of life.
Stepping through the entrance into the circus is, in a way, as if I am stepping through a small door into my childhood.
A monograph by the title: “Il Circo” by Leo Pellegatta with aphorism of the surrealist Spanish writer Ramón Gómez de la Serna was presented at Utrecht / NowIdea in Tokyo & N.Y. Art Book Fair in 2009. The book is also featuring a short story by Japanese writer Shinji Ishii and has been published in 1.500 copies + 50 limited editions.
