Time is Money

2023 Performance
The performer sits behind a black table in a worn yellow-walled gallery, dressed in black with a sculptural headpiece made of many thin wires ending in clear, bead-like drops that radiate across and around their face. They rest their cheek against one hand, eyes closed, while their other hand lies on the table beside a long thick braid of black hair. A white cup, small objects and papers are spread across the tabletop. In front, a handwritten sign reads “15 min 150 Euro with 15 min negotiation time ‘TIME is MONEY’.”
Wide view of the performer seated at the end of a black table beside large windows, wearing black and the wire-and-clear-drop headpiece across their face. Several visitors sit and stand closely around the table facing them. The performer holds a tarot deck between both hands while looking toward the seated visitors. Books, papers, small bottles, stones and other objects are arranged across the tabletop, with a long black braid extending from the performer’s side. Bright daylight enters through the windows and falls across the group.
The performer sits behind the black table in conversation with a visitor standing opposite them. The performer looks upward toward the visitor, who wears a black jacket and loose blue jeans, stands with their hands loosely clasped in front of their body and looks back at them. The performer wears the radiating wire-and-clear-drop headpiece and rests one hand on an open notebook with handwritten pages. A long black braid stretches across the table among a white cup, boxes, stones and small objects. An empty wooden chair stands between the table and the visitor.
Overhead view of the performer giving a tarot reading to a visitor seated opposite them at the black table. The performer wears the radiating wire-and-clear-drop headpiece and holds an open book in both hands while looking toward the visitor. The visitor rests both forearms on the table and looks down toward three tarot cards arranged in a vertical row between them. A long black braid curves across the tabletop alongside handwritten notes, a pen, a tarot deck, a white box, a cup and small objects.
View across the black table after the performer and visitors have moved out of the frame. A long thick braid of black hair lies across the left side of the tabletop. In front are handwritten pages with a pen, a stack of blank white sheets, two large mineral stones and a white box. An empty wooden chair faces the table. Across the otherwise open gallery, three framed artworks hang on a worn yellow wall.
Photography: Jasmina Al-Qaisi, Esra Gülmen

Starting with a shift in the context of the capitalist chronopolitical motto "Time is money," the performance interrogates both capitalistic and alternative systems of value exchange, and how the politics of time shape our lives.

Through live interaction, the work invites reflection on how we assign worth to time, negotiate presence, and perceive the notion of "wasting" time. It challenges audience members to confront the invisible economies that govern our daily rhythms and values.

Time is Money emerged in response to the urgent need for solidarity following the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey, Syria, and Kurdistan. The first edition was presented in the solidarity exhibition "They are not ok. We are not ok", curated by Noelia Gaitega and Esra Gülmen at Salon am Moritzplatz, Berlin.

Wide view into a small white room crowded with visitors gathered closely around a small table. At the far side, the performer sits wearing black and a black cap, their long pale braid falling over one shoulder. A visitor sits directly opposite them while the performer looks downward toward an open book or notebook on the table. A lit white candle, hourglass, papers and small objects sit on the tabletop. Other visitors stand, sit and kneel around the pair, some partially blocking the view and watching from close range.
The performer sits behind a small table covered with an irregular translucent brown-gold material, surrounded by seven visitors who sit, kneel or crouch closely around it. Wearing black with a black cap and long pale braid, the performer turns toward the group with their mouth open as if speaking. A handwritten sign on the front of the table reads “TIME IS MONEY / TIME FOR SALE / OPEN TO NEGOTIATION.” A lit candle, hourglass, cups, bowls, papers and small objects cover the tabletop. Several visitors look directly toward the performer while others face them from the floor.
Close view of the performer and a visitor seated opposite each other at the small table. The performer, wearing a black cap and long pale braid, holds an open book titled TIME in both hands and reads with their eyes lowered to the page. Opposite them, the visitor leans over and writes on a contract for buying the performer’s time. Between them are a burning white candle, an hourglass containing pale yellow sand, bowls filled with small round objects, papers and other small materials. The table is draped in an irregular translucent brown-gold covering that hangs in wrinkled layers toward the floor.
Three people sit closely around the small brown-gold-covered table. The performer, dressed in black with a black cap and long pale braid, holds an open booklet in both hands and looks down while reading. One visitor in a pink cap sits facing them, while another visitor in a black cap and sheer black top extends one hand toward a burning white candle at the edge of the table. Small metal cups, an hourglass, bowls, papers and other objects are arranged between them. The three chairs and small table are closely grouped against the plain white walls.
Photography: SOPA, Camilla Brogaard
Research Continuation

The project continues as an ongoing performative research exploring how time shapes relationships, value, and social exchange.

Presentations
School of Performance Art III, Kule, Berlin, DE, 2025
They are not ok. We are not ok, curated by Noelia Gaitega and Esra Gülmen, Salon am Moritzplatz, Berlin, DE, 2023
Credits
Time is Money, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 6 hours, 2023
Performance Chronopolitics Long-durational Audience Participation
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