Artist Spotlight with Poppy Plowman

7 November 2024

Poppy Plowman is a British circus artist with Turkish Cypriot origins.

Specialising in tight wire she experienced her lower education in several different circus schools across Europe before graduating from Le Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Châlons en Champagne (CNAC) in 2018.

Her culturally diverse education taught her a high level of technical skills and an academic knowledge of circus.

From a young age I was always fascinated with art as a form of expression. Being home educated I had quite an alternative upbringing, and after being introduced to circus at the young age of 10, I already felt like I had found my calling. I experienced my lower education in various different circus schools across Europe before graduating as a tight wire artist from Le Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Chalons en Champagne (CNAC) in France in 2018.

After graduating and working for several different contemporary circus companies across Europe, I quickly noticed the structural inequalities within an industry to which I was initially drawn for the opposite reason.

As a Female half British, half-Turkish Cypriot neurodivergent artist from a working-class background, I had always felt that my gaze was underrepresented within the industry and in the world as a whole. Growing up I had no role models that looked like me and my employment was now contributing to the very systematic inequalities that I was fighting to avoid. I quickly realised that working as a minority within an unequitable industry wasn’t enough. It was time for me to find my own artistic voice and share my thoughts, feelings and stories with the world. It was time for me to be brave and to be the change that I wanted to see.

‘I set out on a mission to create all-inclusive work that proactively embraces identity and inspires anti-oppressive attitudes to emerge from the audience.’

With this in mind, the ever-growing topic of Intersectionality within our society seemed like a rich starting point of artistic research, and from this research came the birth of my first show Turk(ish). Turk(ish) is an autobiographical piece which uses contemporary circus, dance, live music and storytelling to discuss personal struggles of biological and cultural identity and Western beauty standards.

This show toured both indoors and outdoors within the UK and it’s success and positive impact was truly touching. It reinforced not only the power but also the responsibility that I have as an artist and inspired me to embark on my second creation, but where to begin?

Having developed a love for outdoor touring and experiencing the truly unifying impact it can have on communities, I wanted my second show to be created specifically with outdoor touring in mind.

With a growing interest in phycology, I had recently been introduced to Swiss phycologists Carl Jung’s theory of mind, Persona and Shadow, which he describes as two components of personality: the Persona being the conscious personality that people project to others, and how they want to be seen.

The persona is formed in early life and is influenced by culture, environment, upbringing, and personal attributes. And the Shadow being the unconscious aspects of the personality that people prefer not to acknowledge or are ashamed of. The shadow includes repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcoming. It can also include positive qualities such as normal instincts, realistic insights, and creative impulses. After reading about this topic, it felt highly relatable in today’s modern-day society and something that I believe needs to be addressed.

Finally, I had found my second point of research, and with the support of Blueprint 2024, project Shadow and Persona was born. Having recently started my journey as a highwire artist, I decided to incorporate highwire into this show, along with tight wire, as I felt that the two disciplines would allow for a powerful visual representation of this topic.

Watch Persona and Shadow:

Working alongside fellow wire artist Mael Commard, and with residency space and artistic support provided by Gorilla Circus, we set out on a two-week research and development period. The creative method we followed was: Concept, Create, Structure and Content. This method allowed us space for creative freedom as well as the opportunity to develop high-level techniques whilst never forgetting the initial point of research.

At the end of the two weeks, we had successfully created 30 minutes of material that talks about the compromise we all make between our natural inclinations and the patterns of a civilised society, as well as the importance of keeping a health balance between the two.

During my research for this show there was a line from a book called Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert A. Johnson which really stuck out for me: “There is however, a broader kind of creativity that folds the darkness into the finished product and finds fulfilment in the shadow.”

This sentence feels very relevant to my work and is perhaps the reason I have always found it important to express myself through art. I hope that in doing so I can continue to represent underrepresented communities within the industry and continue to address topics that will contribute to positive change.