The central topic this work deals with, and its starting point, are the unusually large house windows that can be observed throughout the Netherlands. The pictures were taken on film and they all depict subjects behind windows: either shop, house, or cafe windows, through which we can see displays of products for sale, or people inside of places. The light, in addition to making visual perception possible, also focalises the attention and guides the eyes. What’s behind the window is exposed to the eyes of the passer-byes, the glass acts as a filter, and changes the perception and the meaning of what is seen. It becomes a consumable product, a showcase, a display, an entertainment source, an advertisement.

What does it mean to see or to be seen?

Dutch houses are known to have particularly large windows, but this aspect can seem way more apparent and bizarre to the eyes of a foreigner. Some research revealed how the reason behind this doesn’t lie in wanting more sun light to enter the living space as some think, but has indeed to do with the possibility to peer into each other’s home. Privacy is an interesting topic in dutch culture, and this tradition is so interwoven in daily life that researches have struggled to figure out exactly the sociological tangles around it. The most popular explanation stems from the Protestant religious tradition of Calvinism, which insists that honest citizens have nothing to hide. Closing the curtains could indicate otherwise.