Who’s looking at who?
At home, there was always disagreement once it got dark. As soon as the lights were on, my mother insisted on closing the curtains, while my father sometimes ignored it. Perhaps I inherited that sense of annoyance from her.
During evening walks through the neighborhood, I notice how people seem to display themselves in their living rooms, slouched on the couch. It feels as if I am invading their privacy, while at the same time judging how they present themselves. And then there is the gaze of the person who notices me, as if I’ve been caught, but who is really looking at whom?
This feeling became even stronger during my research, when I took a camera out into the street and secretly looked into people’s homes. Even the idea that I could capture something not meant for me felt uncomfortable and loaded. It made me realize how paradoxical it is that in the Netherlands we expose ourselves so openly within our private domain, while at the same time longing for privacy..
To convey the feeling of a voyeur being caught by the resident, I created an installation with peepholes. You think you can secretly and unseen watch someone’s life, until you are discovered by the resident, who begins to stare back at you. This initially creates a sense of invisibility, but through this confrontation it transforms into a feeling of visibility and discomfort. You experience the sense of seeing something that was not meant for your eyes.
