WHEN WE ARE APART, THE MIND JUST REPLAYS WHAT THE
HEART CAN’T DELETE. WHEN TOGETHER, IT’S THE ONLY THING
THAT MATTERS.
Diesel presents a portrait of absence and desire. Told through the words, memories and messages of 16 lovers who have experienced
time apart, the feelings that this evokes and the intense reconnection that follows.
MEET THE COUPLES
“It genuinely felt like a piece of me was missing. I mean, this is somebody that I spoke to
every single day for two years at that point. And for it to be completely shut off was like...
I felt outside of myself.”
AJ
“Like two magnets, we saw each other and we were back together.”
Mike
"Physical touch is where I’m at and being able to show my love physically. That was one
of my biggest challenges when we were apart, because I needed to really figure out how
to use my words to actually let her know that I was still there even though I wasn’t there
physically and to show her that love through words"
“Hugging her for the first time in literal months was really calming for me. I’m a nervous
person and I just felt at home, if that makes sense.”
KOI
“Before I left, Sean hid a book in my suitcase, with a hand written letter in the back,
stuffed with dried flower petals, candy wrappers, polaroids etc. We had only begun dating
three months before I left. I didn’t end up seeing the book until several weeks in and it was
startling, in the most meaningful way to see it fall out of my suitcase.”
“It was really nice to have someone to miss while you were out there, something that kind
of roots you back home. Because most other times that I went, coming home was the
last thing that I wanted to do.”
MERILYN
“I definitely realized when being distant that too much time together is too much, but then
also too much time apart is too much.”
MIGUEL
”I was basically just waiting at the door and I had a roses and I was playing a playlist that
he made me when he was away. As soon as he walked in, we didn’t even talk.”
JUSTICE
“Even after all those years, it was just like I never left.”
Martin
“When we first met in college, my notebooks talk a lot about Martin, pretty much only
about him. But then as we spent time apart, he pops in occasionally for catch up lunches
and dinners. And then fades away again. I love that these notebooks capture all of that.”
Michelle
”In some kind of way, it almost maybe was better because I feel like we really got to see
who we were to each other through the distance.“
BASIE
”Basie’s flip phone made it difficult to face chat when we were apart - so we sent letters
and postcards all the time. The letters felt more honest in a way. I don’t think either of us
had ever been so excited to check the mailbox in our lives. It sort of became this sensual
process...a mixture of anticipation and eagerness. It was more romantic and fun.”
CASSANDRA
“I was thinking about them all the time. I was dating other people. I was in a long-term
four year relationship at this point, but I was constantly thinking about them.”
OSKAR
“I felt like I had had the best day ever. And I came in to the house and I’m floating and I’m
like, 'Oh my God. I think I just had the best date I’ve ever had before.' And it was great. It
was really fantastic."
ALEXA
"I take pride in this constant stream of togetherness. You have to always know your own
head, know your own heart, know what’s going on, and then above all it’s a recommitment
all the time.”
“Our wedding day. I was very giddy that day, and it played out as a nervous twitch in my
foot while we were saying our vows and Delroy forevermore teases me as having had
second thoughts...”
SYLKE