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, or after the applause, usually stays out of sight. With this series, Sigrid Debusschere wants to show circus artists in their dignity. She traveled the country photographing various circus families.

In order to broaden the view of these communities, she captures what is not part of the spectacle, the moments when the entertainers are no longer watched. Her photos reveal their strong sense of tradition, show their daily life, as well as the stories between the acts.

Light and shadow are dramaturgical elements from the circus that Sigrid makes grateful use of as a photographer. Just as the arena delimits the place in which circus acts take shape, she uses her framing to stage the scene. In this way she also puts 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.