Circus Europe

Circus Europe is a project by Machteld van Buren

and Peter van Lier.

Machteld van Buren is a visual artist. Her work is

in the collections of different Dutch museums.

Peter van Lier is a poet. He published five volumes of

poetry. Both artists live and work in The Netherlands.

Hardly a day goes by without a news report on

the European Union. Didn't we rush headlong into

a common currency without stopping to consider

the consequences? We have come to realize that

some of the members are unable to meet the EU's

financial obligations. Many people are predicting

the end of the euro. An uncertain and turbulent

future awaits each of the member states. Disintegration

is perhaps a more likely prospect than political union.

These uncertainties sparked the series of works

titled Circus Europe, which were created by Machteld

van Buren since 2012. In large collages she illustrates how

the struggle for survival is being waged in various

European countries. Some countries are depicted as

an animal: the body consists of a map onto which

the realistic head of an animal has been superimposed. Other countries are the playground for animals, performing their acts.The juggling acts which these animals have to perform to keep themselves going are indicative of how each nation functions. But how the stunts work is not entirely clear.

Each year Machteld van Buren will create new collages. The aim is to have at least one exhibition per year in an EU country. Local poets will be invited to give a reaction on one of the new collages, making sure to include an image of Europe's future.

Rather than leaving it to politicians to define the Europe of today and tomorrow, it is good to have artists depict it as well. Given the tone of the debate, alternatives with a playful or visionary element might actually be quite useful. So let the fun begin: 'Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to Circus Europe!'

The first exhibition was held in January 2013 at The Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon in Ireland. The second exhibition took place in September/October 2013 at Arteriet in Kristiansand in Norway, the third in June/July 2015 at the University of Zagreb in Croatia.

The first book with eight images and the reactions of four Irish and four Dutch poets is published by Salmon Poetry. The Norwegian edition of this book, with an extra image and poem, was published by Arteriet.