I drive outside of town, behind and past the circus lot. Past the field, past the circus wagons that stand like sculptures of remembrance. They look menacing amidst the storm, the garish scenes painted on the facade flashing with each crackle of light. For a moment I can believe they’re haunted, too.
~ Unfixed
Circus continues to inspire through its many forms in both history and imagination. While researching for Unfixed, I visited Baraboo, Wisconsin and its Circus Museum. It is there in the circus wagons exhibit that I encountered the fairy tale wagon that inspired each performer’s residence in Unfixed:
Before me in the distance are five wagons, unscathed, untouched by the destruction around it. But somehow it’s underwhelming. Not a lick of evidence of anyone traipsing around here, performing here…or vanishing here…As if nothing happened. As if it had been erased.
I walk up to the wagons. I regret referring to the wagons as underwhelming. Up close they have a commanding presence, a towering presence. Fairy tale tableaus on the side introduce whimsy. The first hint of “strange marvels.” I hesitate, then approach the first. I feel as if I am being watched, scrutinized; as if I am trespassing, and I’m not sure if that is from the character on the side of the wagon, from Fancy’s penetrating gaze, or from general paranoia.
~ Unfixed
In my story, I wanted to capture just a taste of that moment with the circus wagons to remember and share. It’s not the same seeing them in a photo, or even seeing them from a distance. Approaching them is truly awe-inspiring. I encourage you to visit and feel that sense of magnificence approaching these larger than life wagons.
More on this wagon’s history can be found at www.circuswagons.org/tableaus/fairy-tales-tableau-75
