BERNICE NAUTA
BERT HAANSTRA

Who/what do you see in the mirror of the water surface and who/what is underneath? Longtime Nosea examines (the history of) living together with the water on Marken and the related folk tale about a water devil who preys on small children. Parents scared their children with this character so that they would stay away from the water.

Bernice Nauta works with fictional characters and the stories that surround them. They range from recognizable appearances to myths and gossip. In doing so, she asks questions about identity and about the opposition between fact and fiction. In the film Ditch-jumping re-enactment (2022), Nauta is searching for her stunt double, which she supposedly lost as a child when she broke her leg while ditch-jumping. By filming only the reflection of the water – a reference to Haanstra’s Mirror of Holland (1951) – she appears as her stunt double.

When Robbie Schweiger saw Ditch-jumping re-enactment (2022), it reminded him of the story of the water devil. It seemed to be challenged by continuously jumping back and forth across the ditch. This formed the starting point for Longtime Nosea. More extensive research by Nauta and Schweiger revealed that there was more beneath the surface of the water devil. Several sources revealed that the character has similar origins to the problematic figure of ‘Zwarte Piet,’ who appears from the mid-19th century as a ‘helper’ to St. Nicholas. The name ‘Nokker’ can even be associated with the n-word.

Research on the water devil is still ongoing in collaboration with local historian Jan Schild.

--

Supported by Stroom Den Haag.