Kaleab Abate Ethiopia, b. 1998
66 7/8 x 39 3/8 in
Further images
Romantic intimacy doesn’t cost much around her. Love isn’t expensive there. Behind the loudest parts of the city, hidden in the back with modest doors almost shy of being noticed, there were bars that serve small pieces of paradise behind small curtains.
Inside those tiny square booth’s lovers sat close knees touching, hands resting on one another creating a universe that exists only behind those curtains. In that moment a kiss becomes the only confession for the emotional cravings they are holding.
But it isn’t just any kiss. It is a flavored one. A glass of mint flavored gin always sits nearby as part of the ritual, to sweetening the kiss. Love doesn’t cost much behind those curtains just a one-way bus ticket, a pack of NYALA cigarettes, and mint gins.
It’s a cheap date with such an expensive taste.
- Artist Statement by Kaleab Abate, 2026