Redneck Mansion Photograph

This story was first published on 16th March 2008

This photograph of an intriguing and unusual “collection” of stacked caravans (trailers) has circulated for several years via email and social media.

The photograph is simply identified as a “redneck mansion”. The implication is that some comparatively well-to-do “redneck” has assembled a large collection of portable dwellings into one towering edifice. At first glance, this might seem like a reasonable assumption.

However, the true origin of the image is far different from the fictional description attached to it. In fact, the structure is an elaborate outdoor set for the Theater het Amsterdam Bos, a Dutch theater group. The set was created by Catherina Scholten for a 2005 production of Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov.

The alternative, wider-angled, view of the theater shown below includes the attending audience in the shot and immediately reveals the true purpose of the supposed “redneck mansion”.

Image submitted by site visitor, March 2008

Other photographs of the set published on adaptivereuse.net and elsewhere on the Internet also include views of patrons watching the performance.

It appears that some unknown prankster has carefully selected or cropped a photograph of the set and added the “redneck mansion” label before launching it into cyberspace.