Candace Biggerstaff

LONG TERM CIRCUS SERIES 

For the past three decades, I have been photographing the intentional communities, nontraditional families, collectives that form around traveling circuses. This focused exploration has a genesis in my own search for family and community. I use the circus way of life--filled with history, heritage and legacy, to enlighten and influence my opinion of family values. 

As many circuses have disappeared or adapted, I am acutely aware of the clock ticking and the need to capture a culture that is in transition. The history and evolution of the circus continues to hold my interest. I select traditionally old school circuses; almost all have eliminated protected animals and have gone back to original circus act’s that Europeans brought to America. I will continue to shoot the ever-changing circus, that bond traditions with new techniques, and athletic mastery that continues to entertain us. 

I am passionately engaged in my continued documentation of the America Circus, by taking truthful, nonjudgmental, respectful images of circuses. I admire the creators, and families who relish this way of life.