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This paper analyzes two paintings by the British artist Gwen John. The purpose is to investigate how the two paintings The brown teapot and Portrait of Mrs Atkinson communicate performatively with the viewer and whether individual picture elements can be thought of as metaphors for a flow of time. Theoretically, the study is based on the concepts of performativity and temporality to create a discursive framework that is then used to ask questions that seek to answer hypotheses in accordance with the purpose formulation. One conclusion is that both paintings appears to place the beholder outside the image and that limits the viewer's active response. In the portrait of Mrs Atkinson, it is also not possible to meet the model's gaze, which creates further distance to the viewer. Both paintings are interpreted as an expression of a slow flow of time, mainly by the way they exclude the viewer from an active and direct space to respond to, but instead offering a contemplative and reflective passive role as a beholder.