Performance artist Kim Noble has a unique approach to promoting his first graphic novel, In Pursuit of a Wonderful Nothing. He proposed hiring a digger, digging a hole under a roundabout, and burying the books there. His publisher rejected the idea.
Noble, known for his unsettling stage shows, has a history of thwarted literary ambitions. He once left drawings for a book in public toilets around London, expecting the publisher to search for them. The publisher instead chose a different project.
The graphic novel, rejected by other publishers, is described as a collage of text and drawings, part scrapbook and part photo album. It chronicles Noble’s 20-year search for an Icelandic curator who disappeared after a missed meeting that was part business, part first date.
Noble, now 51, is a full-time carer for his mother, who appears in his current work. He plans to recreate his own birth with her for a potential show. Despite his bleak self-assessment, his work has been praised for its raw honesty.
