AT A GLANCE

The right to remain unseen.

Scopophobia is the fear of being stared at or watched. A person with this phobia develops a feeling, like she is being constantly watched.

Kristin is affected by this phobia and gives a personal insight in her autobiographic essay “Scopophobia”, where she explains that she was stalked by a serial rapist during college. The traumata of this event and realizing, that she was being watched all the time led to scopophobia.

She goes into hiding at home, but she doesn’t feel safe anywhere, even in her sleep, she feels watched.

“At a time when all I wanted to do was hide, invisibility was impossible.”

She is moving to her new house, which is in the city center of The Hague. From the outside the concrete facade looks uninteresting and passersby can´t look inside. But the public is invited to go inside the private courtyard and will get curious for the feminist sculpture. Kristin can enter this buffer zone, in-between her private and the public space, with some options to hide. The garden is in the spotlight and the contrast of light and darkness enables the viewer inside to remain hidden.

The rooms are arranged in heightened privacy, from the bedroom upstairs to the office downstairs. The inside façade is changing, gradually exposing her to people throughout the building. For example, the one side see through mirror glass. Kristin can control the facade herself, therefore gaining control over who and when she is being watched.

She becomes the observer; she has the control.