What was that? There! Did you see it? It almost looked like a… neon bug dancing? No, that can’t be right, can it? Created by playful Dutch designers...
Flea Circus
2000 NSW
Australia
Artist Details
Event Details
What was that? There! Did you see it? It almost looked like a… neon bug dancing? No, that can’t be right, can it? Created by playful Dutch designers and Vivid Sydney favourites Studio Toer (Fish Are Jumping, 2023; Bloom, 2022; Firefly Garden, 2019), this charming work is an ode to an historical oddity, and a celebration of spectacle, belief and magic.
Itching with excitement, crowds across Europe flocked to flea circuses in the 19th and early 20th century to see tiny bugs dance, swordfight, play musical instruments and more. Audiences left divided: Was what they saw real, or just a trick?
Some shows, incredibly, trained real fleas! And others traded in illusion, using not just magnets and mechanical tools to trick audiences, but the equally potent power of suggestion. Imagination did the heavy lifting, as crowds, looking for fleas, would see them. Much like flea circuses of yore, Flea Circus invites the viewer to complete the illusion.
Country represented by installation: The Netherlands
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