on n’attend que toi

2002 / video / 3'55" / colour / sound*

we only wait for you is a circular travel paced by the rhythm of Jack’s Reminders to the King of Karactika, a poem written by Harry Mathews and read especially for this video by Ian Monk.

Jack’s Reminders to the King of Karactika first appeared in Selected Declarations of Dependence (Sun & Moon Classics, 1977), a book illustrated by Alex Katz. the poem is written in the form of crossed proverbs or perverbs an oulipian contrainte in which two regular proverbs are mixed. Ian Monk did his own rendering of this poem during Harry, un oulipien qui vous veut de bien a 2002 oulipian homage to Harry Mathews in Paris.

On my request, Ian Monk kindly repeated his performance as the soundtrack for this video.

And Harry Mathews, very generously, let me re-illustrate his poem with these images.

*(please notice sound doesn’t start until 0’35”)