Clowns Have Feelings, Too

Clowns were created for superficial consumption, as a means of easy live entertainment without any expectation to dig deeper and uncover raw emotion. “We don’t talk about how they really feel,” says Dimmi Taburets, who recently attended a Chilean circus and became inspired by what he saw while traveling through Latin America.

The Berlin-based, Ukrainian artist explains that the makeup of local clowns “evokes a feeling of tenderness and trash at the same time,” which prompted him to create a colorful story of two clown girls. “In some images I wanted to isolate the makeup and emotion,” he says, detailing shots where the surrounding environment is strangely blurred.

Below, enjoy Taburets’ play on “Los Chicharrines” for PAPER, as an extension of his personal work that experiments with irony, humor and fashion.