Josilda da Conceição is pleased to present Kissing. Before. After., a duo exhibition by Rabin Huissen and Simo Tse. When the tombstone of Oscar Wilde was completed in 1912, it provoked such an outcry that the memorial remained covered for two years. Surviving multiple incidents of vandalism, it was the thousands and thousands of kiss marks, left by visitors to Wilde’s tomb, that put the flying naked angel behind walls again. Apparently, lipstick grease had begun to erode the limestone. Toppling while kissing softly, was the first thought that came to Simo Tse’s mind when his fellow artist, Rabin Huissen, told him about his journey to visit Wilde’s tomb in Paris. The two artists share a mutual curiosity and admiration for Wilde’s work, and an affinity for image-based practice.
The exhibition Kissing. Before. After. deals with the irreversible qualities of images and image-making. Both artists instil their work with durationality, by lying down and staying still on light-sensitive paper, or by reengaging with an old school photo. The idea is that once an image is set, or in other words, once it has happened, time is slit open and becomes material. The meaning of an image can change but its malleability remains constant. Image-making, like kissing, cannot be undone.