Artist Statement: I was in a professional circus troupe for 5 years from ages 9-14. I decided to center my project around this experience. The project depicts the scene of a show. Being in the circus was incredibly conflicting while it provided great opportunities and it was ultimately traumatizing. My piece includes sculptures made of wire and appoxee, a painting, a lamp,  and numerous mixed media accessories. As you look closer at the scene, you will start to notice eerie details. Although at first appears the scene is colorful and potentially even happy, this portrayal is intentionally false. You will only really see what goes on behind closed doors if you pay attention to the details. There are small sculptured hands wrapped around the waist of the performers. The hands were placed specifically to symbolize feelings of being controlled emotionally and also as the hand squeezes the waist it shows the pressure to remain small and thin. I decided to have the hand alone, not attached to a body because the subject is not supposed to be enforcer. This creepy accessory matched with the vibrant costumes creates an accurately contrasting depiction of my experience. The performers are thin and disorienting almost as if they are part of a bad nightmare or characters in Coraline. Nextly, the performers have bloodshot eyes popping out and there is a spotlight over them depicting every flaw. if you pay attention to the sculpture's faces, despite the bright and “happy looking” makeup the eyes are bloodshot and poking out. This choice was made to portray the anxiety and burn out of being in a toxic and emotionally abusive environment. Additionally, if you pay attention to the sculpture's faces, despite the bright and “happy looking” makeup the eyes are bloodshot and poking out. This choice was made to portray the anxiety and burn out of being in a toxic and emotionally abusive environment. Lastly, I choose to use a lamp to hang the apparati off  of instead of just a piece of wood and something more straightforward. The lamp has a dual purpose: not only does it serve as a spotlight but also shows the feeling of being under a microscope with all the figures' flaws exposed. All of these things were done to show an aspect of this experience. Lastly, at my old circus one of the iconic visuals was this old Max Malini’s circus floor board that was pasted onto the studio's wall. The floorboard spanned 25 ft height and 25 feet wide. I decided to recreate this painting and use it as the floor of my showing.