VISITORS OF AN EXHIBITION SPACE ARE SUGGESTED
TO 'DO NOTHING'
Testimonial by Patricia Couvet / conversation with Katya Ev
“I came on a Sunday, which is supposed to be a free
day, so the balance was regained by ‘working’ for a
double amount.”
“It is deeply rooted in Christian culture that you always
have to do something—to earn money, achieve a certain
standing in society and pay your right to purgatory. By
reversing the logic of “I have to do something to get
paid,” this idea about the value of work shifts. You make
something valuable that is not considered as such: ‘doing
nothing,’ but also ‘giving time’.”
“Anthropologists discuss the ‘gift economy’ in ancient
societies. When you give gift, there’s always a contra-gift.
With the contract, we give ‘doing nothing’ and ‘getting
paid’ comes in exchange. That is supposed to be in
balance […] the performance raises a lot of questions
about that.”