This was part of a group show on – you guessed it – clowns.
I guess the inspiration was the Sondheim tune, “Send in the Clowns.” From there it was a short jump to rounding them up in a camp of some sort.
Clowns, like jesters, and like comedians and artists in general, are typically enemies enemy of the borders imposed by orthodoxy, especially totalitarian orthodoxies. Of course you round these guys up, and perhaps shoot them.