Why this photographer wants everyone to kiss
Capturing Yearning: Andrea Martí’s Vision of Modern Romance
Earthguardiansonline.com – Beneath shimmering red tinsel and within the warm, dim illumination of a nightclub, six young pairs share tender kisses. Each couple appears absorbed in their own private universe, eyes closed and arms wrapped around one another. The setting—a vintage London nightlife venue with retro wooden interiors—creates an atmosphere that feels suspended in time, as though plucked from a cinematic moment where decades blur together. For photographer Andrea Martí, who orchestrated this intimate gathering, the objective was clear: to capture genuine longing.
A Series Born from Observation
The resulting photograph belongs to Martí’s project titled “Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny,” a name borrowed from a 2021 essay that went viral discussing how contemporary blockbuster films feature increasingly flawless leads yet lack romantic tension. Martí explained her motivation during a video conversation: “Everyone has beautiful bodies in the media, but we’re seeing all these hot people and there’s no tension here. There’s no desire, yearning, anything.”
She developed this body of work during her graduate studies at the University of the Arts London. Throughout her research, she noticed recurring studies indicating that Generation Z engages in less sexual activity, shows reluctance toward traditional dating, and experiences greater loneliness compared to earlier generations. However, she remains cautious about broad generalizations. “I don’t like to make general assumptions,” she noted. “I think some communities are more sexually open, but I think from my experience, there is a general sense of loneliness, and an inability to connect with other people.”
The Problem of Perpetual Optimization
According to Martí, one fundamental challenge facing modern relationships stems from what she calls perpetual optimization. “Everyone wants to be tracking their calories and looking great and having successful careers and there’s no time for sensuality,” she observed. This concept of sensualism as an ideology forms the backbone of her artistic practice, drawing inspiration from Marilyn Monroe viewed through the female gaze.
The shoot took place at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, a historic venue that once served exclusively as a men’s social gathering space but now hosts drag performances, burlesque shows, and disco events. Martí recruited participating couples with assistance from casting director Melisa Ozcolak, having initially posted flyers both on campus and across online platforms. She deliberately chose real couples over actors after finding that only older men responded to her online casting calls, which outlined the day’s activities.
Chaos and Connection During the Shoot
While the presence of genuine relationships brought authenticity to the images, Martí encountered unexpected challenges. “I was like, come out with your partner or your situationship, and some people canceled on the day of the shoot or a couple days before because they were no longer together,” she remembered. Over eight hours, she documented the couples who arrived, capturing them in stairwells, doorways, and throughout the venue as they embraced in red-tinted light.
Martí described Bethnal Green as “a time capsule,” noting its grubby tile floors, a stage framed by a kitschy oversized red heart, and party tinsel adorning the walls. “It’s slightly disgusting,” she said with laughter. “I didn’t realize it had so much history, and it is such an iconic place.”
The photographer’s images carry deep nostalgia, incorporating 1960s styling cues, referencing Tom Wood’s iconic 1980s photographs of teenagers clubbing, and drawing upon her mother’s memories of late-night outings. “I remember my mom talking to me a lot about how back in the day they would go clubbing and they would play slow music at the end of the night for people to slow dance,” she recalled. “I think it was like trying to recreate that moment.”
“This is something that I return to in my work, which is sensualism as an ideology.”
