What if I asked you to come with me? I’ll teach you to walk the tightrope, way up in the air, with all the lights on you. I have a car. We’d be traveling all the time. We’d have a world of fun. Would you like that?
– The Fool, La Strada (1954)
Le Grand Cirque des Enfants is a series of photographs by English-born Jack Sharp (1928-1992). In 1955 Jack took a job as an engineer at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as the hymned CERN (originally: Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléairein) in Geneva, Switzerland. When there he took these pictures. We don’t know the names of the children building a circus in Jack’s pictures found by his grandson Dylan. We’d love to, of course. If that’s you or someone you know, please get in touch. We can imagine the stories between the pictures.
Keep up with Jack’s life and times on Dylan’s Instagram and website.
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
