Parterretrap

What happens when someone else takes your place? When someone looks like you, acts like you, or even passes for you? Through the figure of the “double,” Bernice Nauta explores how our identity is shaped by the roles we play and the people we imitate. Behind the Scenes not only focuses on the world behind the curtain of a film set, but also on the hidden facets of an individual—the aspects we prefer to keep concealed from the outside world.

A key point of departure for the exhibition is the work of American sociologist Erving Goffman. In his book *The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life* (1959), he describes social life as a theatrical performance. Depending on where we are and who we are interacting with, we adopt different roles. In the public eye, we perform the roles expected of us by others, while behind the scenes, we behave differently—free from the constant need to account for the expectations of those around us. But where does the performance end, and where does our true self begin?

Nauta finds it compelling to address this subject within Lennard’s private residence—a space where, during the opening hours of Parterretrap, the boundary between the public and the private realm becomes blurred. She investigates this ambiguity by focusing on the stunt double—someone who takes an actor’s place in films, yet typically remains invisible. It is a curious figure: someone whose resemblance feels both familiar and, at the same time, unsettling. After all, if a stunt double shares your appearance, mimics your movements, and occupies your place, how unique are you, really?

In this way, Behind the Scenes explores not only actors and their doubles, but also the roles we ourselves play on a daily basis. After all, are we truly more like our authentic selves at home than we are elsewhere? And who are we, really, when no one is watching?

The opening is part of Hoogtij #87. You are warmly invited to join us for some food and drinks.