A letter to the man who
Cruising-epistolary action, 2018.
Nemer transcribes a love letter from his personal collection, which he distributes to strangers he encounter in gay cruising areas at an appointed hour. The project is publicised throughout the neighbourhood with screenprinted posters detailing the history of the letter and its intended recipient, signalling the time and location of the cruising action.
The action was first staged in Riga, Latvia as part of the exhibition Slash: In Between the Normative and Fantasy, with the cruising actiont taking place near the Rainis monument, the city’s erstwhile gay cruising area. It was reprised in Hampstead Heath, in London, UK, an area that has been used by gay men in London seeking sex for many generations.
The letter is written to the man who first taught me to experience sexual pleasure twenty-five years ago. It tells of how memories of our affair shape who I am today: sexually, amorously, artistically. I want to send it to him, but don’t know where to find him. His whereabouts elude me. I would like to give the letter to you instead. I shall wait for you in Hampstead Heath on Friday, May 11, shortly before midnight. If our cruising paths bring us together, I will hand you the letter.
The action was first staged in Riga, Latvia as part of the exhibition Slash: In Between the Normative and Fantasy, with the cruising actiont taking place near the Rainis monument, the city’s erstwhile gay cruising area. It was reprised in Hampstead Heath, in London, UK, an area that has been used by gay men in London seeking sex for many generations.
The letter is written to the man who first taught me to experience sexual pleasure twenty-five years ago. It tells of how memories of our affair shape who I am today: sexually, amorously, artistically. I want to send it to him, but don’t know where to find him. His whereabouts elude me. I would like to give the letter to you instead. I shall wait for you in Hampstead Heath on Friday, May 11, shortly before midnight. If our cruising paths bring us together, I will hand you the letter.
Photos by Nemer, Edward Twaddle, and Ansis Starks