What do you associate the circus with? For many, it’s a place full of excitement, colour and laughter, where even the deepest desires and dreams can come true… It’s also a home for those who have unique, almost magical abilities: here, a clown rides a bicycle on a thin rope, a graceful acrobat performs his pirouettes on a trapeze, and a gleeful juggler demonstrates how many clubs he can throw while swinging on a ball. All these skills are embodied by the protagonist of ‘Pastel Circus’ – the red-nosed Clown, whose symbolic transformation into a bird is evident on all the coins in the series.
The artist of the series, Ms Laimutė Varkalaitė, reveals the idea behind the ‘Pastel Circus’: ‘This circus is light and fluttery, with soft colours, accelerating and flying, but inside it is rock solid, because the desire to soar is an irresistible force. I want to tell the story of how the inner state becomes visible, and how our aspirations turn into reality from our conception to the flight of the soul, symbolised by the ever-changing Clown. With graphic jewellery, detail by detail, I have tried to convey a sense of verve – feel it!’
On the reverse of the fourth coin, ‘Becoming’, the audience’s favourite Clown is hard to recognize: the graceful body of the performer has undergone a metamorphosis and is no longer the same as before… The hypnotic patterns of his suit have been transformed into blue and yellow abstractions, resembling the colours of the sky, which enchant and seduce with their twisting motions. In the swirl of shimmering details, the smile of the red-nosed Clown can be seen from afar – calm, dreamy, full of a sense of plenitude. The illustrator describes the inner state of this character: ‘I’m already in the air, and my arms turned into wings!.. I am light and, at the same time, such a strong & confident bird. After all, I have waited so long for this moment, which is like a miracle! I feel that what has been flapping inside me is now spreading its wings and taking off with all the power of thought… I am in the air!’
The author of the design, Ms Laimutė Varkalaitė, already known to numismatists from the ‘World of Cryptids’, has conveyed not only the playful symbolism of the circus in a unique manner, but also the journey of a man who persistently pursues his dreams – even if they are not physically possible. On the reverse side, the viewer’s eye is guided by graceful lines that intertwine to create intricate, mathematically precise ornaments, which are filled with dreamy pastel shades.
The silver collectible coin ‘Becoming’ has an antique finish quality and a digitally-printed reverse. The obverse is framed by a circus stage curtain showing a rising balloon and a public seal of Niue in the centre. Below, two katoua cleaving clubs – the symbol of Niue – are crossed, and the island’s motto, ‘atua Niue tukulagi’, is written above them.
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