As some of you may know, last year I’ve done a photography exhibition called ” insight Circus ” ( you can also check a funny video scrolling down the posts ).
I’m not a fan of Circus nor of Zoos or similar. When I was at the high school, just me and a couple of other guys refused to visit the zoo in Berlin, just to give you an idea of my outlook on this.
The thing is, my granpa was a vet and the very first book I got in my life was ” The Great Animal Encyclopedia “.
I was 5.
I knew it by heart.
Latin names too.
I hated Barbies, I just wanted trucks full of stuffed animals.
I truly believed that sparrows could understand me when I spoke to them.
Ok, let’s forget this last sentence, uh.
So, what I started almost 3 years ago, was a challenge to myself. I wanted to go there, to see these places where animals are locked in. I wanted people to see.
In a couple of occasions, I went out of them crying. Really, I’m a grown up, but I felt so miserable. The little Francesca inside me just wished for one thing: open those cages and set them free. The photojournalist Francesca was there to provide documentary evidence and hold judgement. It was so hard.
The Circus was a sort of parallel project, again related to captivity. What I understand is that I really love circus, until animals come out. Then the little Francesca starts yelling inside me, like a crazy monster. Really, I suffer. But, also, I’ve tried to understand. And, sad to say, the audience goes mad when elephants, giraffes and others step under the big top.
So, I guess, it is, as usual, a matter of education. If you teach your children that the circus is an amazing place where people do extraordinary things, they won’t even think about tigers, horses, camels. Let’s re-educate them towards an animal-free-cirus. Because I truly believe it’s wonderful without them. And worth the ticket.
So here are some pics I took a couple of weeks ago. Some of them, of course, holding my breathe and my tongue.
I will go on with the captivity project. It’s too early to show, but I’ve been visiting places in the US, Europe and soon to Asia too. Projects need time. Plus, I believe that pictures need words too. So I’m writing about it as well.
My intention is not to address you to have my opinion, of course, but, at least, to question yours. As I myself I’m doing.
Taking a deep breathe.
