Sirkus Íslands: Johanna-Maria Fritz

"My interest in the subject was sparked by thinking about how uncertain and fleeting human contact is with reality. I especially wanted to capture the moments that take place off stage and show all the excitement, relief and expectations circus artists experience; moments that the audience never usually see. And what happens after the curtain falls?

Around ten years ago, an Australian named Lee Nelson founded a school of circus arts in Iceland. Today, together with his former students, he now runs the country's first and only circus, Sirkus Íslands. The group works extremely well together and within it they have managed to create their own unique culture. Jóhanna-Maria Fritz, who followed the activities of the circus closely for her photography project of the same name, had this to say about her experience with the circus:

"I found the atmosphere and the energy surrounding the group particularly enchanting so decided to join them. Although I became part of the group, I could also observe from the outside in. I followed them for two years in total, photographing them at two-monthly intervals. In the summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to travel around Iceland with them, stopping at places that had never before had the privilege of having a circus visit."

"My interest in the subject was sparked by thinking about how uncertain and fleeting human contact is with reality. I especially wanted to capture the moments that take place off stage and show all the excitement, relief and expectations circus artists experience; moments that the audience never usually see. And what happens after the curtain falls? Since there's no circus tradition here in Iceland I wanted to explore and show the circus artists' community, as well as explore public reception. The hidden world of the circus revealed. The images are captured in moments when the artists are either on stage or going about their daily activities."

Johanna shoots in colour using medium format analogue photographic film.

Johanna-Maria Fritz (1994) studies photography at the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin. She is assistant to Daniel Josefsohn and was the photographer for the record sleeve artwork of German indie band Fuck Art Let's Dance. Her work has been published in Fluter, Vice and Die-Zeit, and has also been exhibited in the C/O Berlin gallery. In 2015 she was awarded the Image Now prize for her Sirkus Íslands series. Johanna-Maria lives and works in Berlin.

Further information about the photographer here.