there is an ocean between us

2020 Performance

Wide street view of the performance space behind a large ground-floor window. The performer appears relatively small within the window, standing upright and still inside in a loose white shirt, with one arm raised and the palm placed against the glass. The view from across the street emphasizes the physical separation between the performer and the exterior, while people, bicycles, parked vehicles and neighbouring façades occupy the surrounding street.

Photography: Derin Cankaya

there is an ocean between us addresses changing definitions of distance, limitation, intimacy, and borders that emerged through the COVID-19 crisis. The performance considers the shifting significance of proximity and remoteness, and the ways in which the pandemic pushed and reshaped possibilities for human connection.

During the performance, Leman Darıcıoğlu stands still behind a window for seven hours, with one hand placed against the glass. The performance space remains locked, and the audience is invited to watch from outside. The glass becomes a surface on which the artist’s body and the exterior environment overlap. Through reflections, the street and its everyday movements—people, vehicles, buildings, and passing activity—are layered over the stationary body.

View from the pavement toward the performer standing still behind the window in a loose white shirt, with one hand raised against the glass. Pedestrians cross directly in front of the window, their moving bodies repeatedly passing between the camera and the stationary performer. Reflections of the building opposite are layered across the glass and over the performer’s body.

Photography: Derin Cankaya

Close view through the window of the performer in a loose white shirt, standing still with one forearm raised vertically and the open palm placed toward the glass, fingers extended. Their head is slightly lowered and their eyes appear closed or nearly closed. Reflections of the opposite building, a tree and a white car cross the glass around the performer’s face, hand and upper body.

Street view of the performer standing alone behind the large window, their white-clothed body framed by the glass and dark window surround. One arm hangs beside the body while the other is raised toward the window. A tree trunk cuts vertically across the exterior view, and a white car obscures the lower part of the window. Reflected façades remain visible across the glass.

Reflective view of the window in which the performer’s white-clothed body is faintly visible behind a strong reflection of the street. The façade and balconies of the building opposite, a white van, parked cars and a tree spread across the glass, making parts of the performer’s body difficult to distinguish beneath the reflected exterior.

Frontal view of the performer standing still behind the window in a loose white shirt, with one hand raised and the palm facing the glass. Reflections of the opposite building and a tree overlap the performer’s body. Across the lower part of the window, several reflected figures gathered outside are layered over the performer’s legs and the interior space.

Close view of the performer behind the glass, their head tilted slightly to one side and their eyes closed or lowered. One arm is held upright with the open palm facing the window. Reflections of a pale building façade, windows, a tree and parked cars pass across the performer’s face, raised hand and torso, fragmenting the outline of the stationary white-clothed body.

Photography: Derin Cankaya

Presentations

Apartment Project, Berlin, DE, 2020, with the curatorial support of Performistanbul

Credits

there is an ocean between us, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 7 hours, 2020

Acknowledgements: Bengisu Çağlayan, Derin Cankaya, Emre Birişmen, Hasan Aksaygın, Melih Sarıgöl, Selda Asal

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