'Mimus,

The photos that I take of people in situations regarding the circus are metaphors for my personal interaction with my direct environment. On the one hand these photos have been composed meticulously with regards to details and décor, on the other they are distinguished by elements out of my control. I always allows the unexpected. Thus, unexplained occurrences both of people and objects happen in my photos. As a result, the characters in my work often seem to be apparitions. They materialise. As characters they have mythical semblance. Therefore, my images depict archetypes who by their individual vulnerability express themselves about the relationship between people. I was introduced to the circus as a child. My father was head of the one-man circus show Theatro Picollini, in which I participated when no one from the audience dared to. I have always been drawn to circus life. Years later I returned, but as a photographer I traveled with circus groups from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The pictures have an air of melancholy and loneliness, they are devoid of the exotic layer that often surrounds circus life. I prefer to call my images autobiographical: 'I have projected my own emotions together with and via the circus performers'.