Roll up, roll up: see behind the scenes at the circus

For 50 years photographer Peter Lavery has been documenting circus performers. Now the best of his work has been gathered for an exhibition and book

Photographer Peter Lavery was captivated by the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd from the second he enountered the world of the circus. To celebrate a fascination that has lasted 50 years he is touring an exhibition of his photographs which coincides with the publication of a hardbacked book telling stories of sawdust and tinsel.

This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the first circus ring ever, drawn by the equestrian Philip Astley in Vauxhall in 1768.

What was it about the circus that caught your attention when you were an art student?

Since dropping in on a small indoor circus in Wakefield I was immediately struck by the disparity between the outward exoticism: the finery, the sequined costumes, the plumes, the elaborate display – and back stage ordinariness. At once I was enthralled by the sounds and the smell, but I had no idea the subject would capture and hold my imagination for over five decades.

Many of the images capture circus life “behind the scenes” as it were. How important was it to you to show both performance and private time?

I hardly ever shoot performances. However there was one notable artist – Ferenc Tabac – the human cannon ball who I photographed in 1996. I treat the back of my camera as a stage, creating a background and then asking the performers to sit for me. Having observed the circus people at length, I found I was able to look at them as individuals and to separate them from their performance but not from their environment. By using this style of composition, I hope I capture what is for me the essence of a photographic portrait – the sitter’s humanity.

During the 50 year span of the exhibition much has changed in circus life – how important do you feel it is to have this time span documented?

Over the years I have often captured three generations of the same circus family, which you can see in the book. In my own way I feel that I have recorded elements of a circus genealogy which future generations could look back on. Circus life as such has not really changed at all.

Did you have a favourite character to shoot?

I am afraid they are all my favourites.

For the photographers among our readers, what equipment did you use to capture these images?

I started in the early years with an old wooden Gandolfi whole plate with a 5x4 conversion back. Almost all the black and white are shot on 5x4 black and white negative. Some whole plate and 10x8 also. The colour is 10 x8 transparency material using a wooden Ebony camera made in Japan.

Where and when can we see the show?

The exhibition has been touring the UK since February. It’s at Bord Gais in Dublin from 25-30 September and The Peltz Gallery London from 7 November-12 December.

● Circus Work 1968-2018 is published by Hand Held Publications at £60, out now, www.peterlavery.com Images from Circus Work 1968-2018, clockwise from main: clowns Valentina Rumyantseva and Valery Kashkin of Moscow State Circus await the arrival of the crowds at the City of Manchester Stadium, 2009; aerial hoop and net dancer Cinzia Timmis of Mondao Circus; Brenda Haeni hangs from the mouth of an elephant with Robert Fossett looking on, Fossett Brothers Circus, 1973; clown Jimmy Scott, Sally Chipperfield’s Circus, Clacton Pier, 1982; dancers Amy and Carla at The Hippodrome Circus Summer Spectacular, 2017; South African trapeze act The Flying Oslers, Billy Smart’s, Fairfield Hall, Croyden, 1971; rope spinners Rosinta, Caroline and Gary Brophy, Planet Circus, 2017, above

Having observed the circus people at length, I found I was able to look at them as individuals and to separate them from their performance but not from their environment