The Value of Nothing

The following text is an excerpt from John Douglas Millar's The Value of Nothing, a text commissioned to appear in the catalogue to accompany Paul Becker's exhibition at the Saanen Vitrine, Switzerland in the autumn of  2023.

"I can’t. The cat’s tail swishes and slips between worlds. The cat’s tail. The cat’s tail swishes. I. I make present. I make this. I make available. It comes. Rub that. Forget. It moves. If a dream.Despite grief. Loneliness. Despite. A Thousand inhibitions. They come. Into. They come into being at all. Be. Let me. Be. Let me. In. A match strike, she moves, match strike. The beauty of an enamel coffee pot. It reflects the flare. The holiness. No. I try to move. This. What is left? Hair. She. Remember an easel. Grimsby, of all places, it was everything. The cat. Let me.Try. Don’t hurt. Don’t harm. Fur. The fluidity, I hope it carries something of me into the
world, the paint. The detail. As uncertain as a smear. The cat’s tail. Swishes. Nerve memory with strategy and willingness. I’ve left the film, the book, the drawing. Another space, but still. Hold this. Hold this open."

John Douglas Millar is a writer based in London. 

Read the full text  in the exhibition catalogue. To order please contact us at office@marcjancou.com