Remission is an exhibition of work that was made by Miller during a season of treatment and recovery during chemotherapy. By placing this artwork out of his mind and having it published, he plans to move forward in life and with his work. This exhibition is a celebration of life, in addition to an exhibition of thought. Projections, photography, poetry, and collages were made as a way to not let his hands or mind be idle during the process of treatment.
"This is just an exhibition of thought. An assembly of objects that sat around me. A recollection of events that have occurred.
They say that the best artwork is created through suffering. That statement is not true. This isn’t the kind of art I want to see. This isn’t what I wanted to make. This isn’t the process or conditions I chose to undergo. This is just what was made through it all and what I choose to show.
But I attempted to create when I could.
I tried so hard to make artwork through it all. To keep my mind in motion. To look forward. To keep my hands from being idle. But underneath the weight, it’s hard to create. It’s not easy to draw with a needle in the bend of your arm. It’s not appropriate to take photographs of the dead and dying. And it’s difficult to write when your mind is cloudy and altered by drugs.
Most of what was made felt false because I didn’t feel like myself during this time. But looking back now, in remission, I can see myself through it all. Stripped down. Bare Bones. Skin & Bones.
So I began assembling the pieces. The work that I tried to make. The letters that were sent to me. The (mounds of) paperwork from the hospitals. The bills. The pills. The postcards. The pamphlets. The scans. My nurses. The photos of my hospital room. The words that sat in my head for weeks at a time.
Seeing them now, gathered and placed together, I hope to find meaning in this time period. Or at least be able to see the big picture of it all, assembled together. Not as artwork, but as a personal reminder. Of all that lays (hopefully) behind me now. Off my chest. Alive, and out in the world."
So here lies Noah Miller, [08.02.1995] [1.1.1.1.] [no known drug allergies]
Sitting with his thoughts laid out. Placing them on exhibition to see them as a whole. [To see the sequences of life side by side] to view and remember what took place. to try and tell what comes next. trying to place it all out of himself.