Inner Circus for I-D Italy
Photographer & Creative Director Anna Yevstihnieieva
Style Sasha Dudchenko
MakeUp & Hairstyle Yevgenia Kozlova
Set Design Anna Yevstihnieieva & Sasha Dudchenko
What is hidden in your Shadow?
“Inner Circus” - the art project by the photographer Anna Yevstihnieieva, inspired by the study of Jung's psychology andmodern interpretation of personality archetypes.
Living in a world of illusions . . .
We look at the reality through the prism of our uniqueinternal attitudes. Each of us creates our own “subjectivereality”.
The action takes place on the stage of an imaginary circus, where the main 8 characters presenttheir surreal performance.
Each hero symbolizes a certain state of the human psyche (archetypes). Four of them areresponsible for our consciousness, and four - for the unconscious aspect, the “shadow” side of the personality.
Each character is unique, there are no “bad” and “good” ones. This is a journey inside your inner“Self”, to the depths of your Ego.
*8-function model is based off of the work of John Beebe and Linda Berens and Chase S. Joseph
Hero
Heroes are invincible. They help us to get through hard times.
We use this function when we feel confident in our strengths andcapabilities.
The hero mode allows us to enter the “flow” state, to be highly involved in the process and show great efficiency and competence.
Using this function is the least energy consuming, and it is easiest
to consciously control. We appreciate this state and can easily become depressed if we are unable to express ourselves.
Parent
A caring and rational Parent supports us in difficult situations and helps us move on. At the same time, an overprotective Parent can hinder personalgrowth.
The Parent seeks to find the truth, is often skeptical and pessimistic.However it helps us take responsibility for making the right decisions.
This function is more difficult for most people to develop because
it is directly related to individuals' maturity levels. This is the exit point fromour comfort zone and one of the main keys to personal growth.
Child
The inner Child is joyful and innocent. It’s a source of endless energyand creativity.
Nothing is impossible here. It believes in miracles and they happen. A happy Child can easily and playfully do what they love all day long.
A frightened child, however, tends to shrug off responsibility and shutdown feeling pressured.
Parent should support and protect the Child.
Inferior
This is the Achilles heel of our psyche, the place of our shame.
Fears and projections on other people are hidden here, which prevent us from moving forward. The mistakes made seem like an unbearableburden.
If somebody hits us on a weak point, we will hate this person.
It’s crucial to be sensitive to this aspect of our psyche. It can be a source of intense stress, or it can be the beginning of inner development andmotivation.
Nemesis
First shadow function - the gateway to the unconscious.
We use Nemesis mostly to protect our ego. This can make us stubborn,passive-aggressive and arguable.
This is the shadow side, that’s very difficult to see in yourself and that’svery easy to project onto another person.
In a positive way, Nemesis supports the Hero and allows us to be moreconfident in achieving goals.
The Critic
The critic is our inner voice that endlessly criticizes others and ourselves.He easily spots someone’s weaknesses and uses it against them.
The Critic develops in stressful situations, when feels danger.
This is a function of our hypocrisy. Sometimes we become harsh andunreasonable when judging other people.
However, the Critic possesses truly outstanding wisdom. He can give us adeeper understanding of other people and strengthen our weak qualities.
The Trickster
Trickster often behave like a child, but unlike an innocent and vulnerable“child,” it is cunning and evil.
It deceives and double bind us, helping to solve our most difficult problems,making the simplest problems irresistible. Trickster is deceiving, cunning andcreates chaos around us. This is a blind spot in the psyche and is considered theweakest function overall.
However, this role can also have a positive side. Since Trickster is both adestroyer and a creator, it destroys self-limiting structures by creating disorderto create new possibilities leading to a new order.
The Daimon (Demon/ Angel)
The devilish role is the most negative. The demon has a powerfuldestructive force in himself. It makes us running amok.
We deeply regret actions taken under the influence of this function.Sometimes, a demon disguises itself as a "savior" - we can use him to takerevenge on other people and hurt them.
It is important for us to see and accept our shadow, and the Demon is thedarkest part of this shadow.
When we learn to recognize its power and integrate it into our personality,we will see that the Demon is actually an Angel.
