enter fullscreen
exit fullscreen
enter fullscreen
exit fullscreen
Le Cirque d'hiver was inaugurated by Emperor Napoleon III in December 1852. After having become,
one after the other, a cinema and a theater scene, it went back to being a circus in 1923. Eleven years later,
it was bought by the Bouglione family. This family continues today to keep the circus tradition alive.
In the season 2008/2009, Mr. Francesco Bouglione, director of the Cirque d'hiver Bouglione, opened the doors of the
circus' backstage to me. For the whole season I could come and go as I pleased during the shows. I got to know the artists
and only after a while, they started accepting my presence, forgetting I was even there. I could then live amongst them and observe
these strange moments before the show, the mundane daily experience of what is for them simply a job, their routines and habits, and
their personal relationships with one another. It was a very rich experience and I hope that my photographs testify to their incredible
realities and more globally to the reality of the Cirque d'hiver.
A book is currently in the making.
• More information about the exhibition at the CAM gallery in the Exhibits section.