MONEY MEANS TIME

MONEY MEANS TIME

MONEY MEANS TIME 2019
Eliana Araque
Mixed media on thermal paper, aluminum, led lights.
60 x 123 x 7 cm

I have always found myself puzzled with the complexity of money, this strange construct, both real and abstract, that shapes so much of our lives. Money is a powerful resource linked to survival, power, prestige. It is also a reflection of how we exchange energies, how we measure value, and yet, it remains somewhat elusive to me.

In this project I take the time to explore money not just as technology and as a tool, but as a transformative force, and its dynamic relationship to time. Money is a catalyst of change, and following that notion, I won’t allow it to change me, but rather put it at the service of the creative energy that from time to time streams through the vessels of my-Self.

This project is a journal of sorts, it is a way to document daily exchanges of my existence through something so mundane yet telling: purchase receipts. These small, delicate papers record moments of transaction, moments of decision, of necessity, of indulgence. Yet, their value, both symbolic and material, fades. The ink vanishes, the paper yellows, and what remains?

In Money Means Time, I aim at shining a light onto the impermanent nature of life, using heat and other mediums over sensitive receipt paper –thermal paper, as a metaphor for time’s passage, for the evanescence of what we hold onto. Through this material I reflect upon time and money fleeting, slipping through our fingers, ephemeral like the very life we live. Money moves, circulates, disappears. Time does too.

The pictures were taken under the same light conditions with a time gap of two years (2019/21), the changes are evident in the tones, colors and sharpness.

CAPTURING FLEETING MOMENTS
CUSTOM COMMISSION

Receipts are more than transactions—they hold traces of moments, places, and experiences. Over time, their ink fades, just like the memories they mark.

I offer commissioned artworks using your collected receipts from special moments—holidays, weddings, milestones—creating a visual keepsake that embraces the beauty of impermanence.

Your memories, transformed into art.

For commissions, inquiries, or ideas, feel free to reach out.