Celebrating the art of making out on tour with Tove Lo

When Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele died from Spanish flu in October 1918, he left behind more than 3,000 works in his distinctive, distorted style. Especially prolific in his studies of sexuality, unfiltered depictions of anatomy were commonplace in his art. ​“After the flu, and Schiele’s death, the whole world was afraid of the body and artists moved towards abstraction,” explains Kenny Laubbacher, the Los Angeles-based photographer and filmmaker, who has co-authored The Kiss Book, a photo project made in collaboration with Grammy-nominated artist, Swedish pop star Tove Lo. During the book’s early stages, Laubbacher became engrossed in a podcast about the virus that referenced Schiele’s early death (he was 28), and subsequently was drawn to the parallels between the two pandemics.

“When we started shooting this, it was the last few months of 2022 and nothing was scarier than somebody else’s mouth,” he says. ​“We already loved the idea of a book about people kissing, but it added an extra element to explore kissing at this moment in time.” Indeed, just as the art world of the early 20^th century had reconfigured itself in the aftermath of the influenza epidemic, in 2022 most people were still adjusting to a new norm that looked and felt remarkably different, at least initially, to the other side of lockdown. 

Published by Baron Books, The Kiss Book is comprised of some 600 photographs of fans making out, shot in 15 countries and 18 cities, during the world tour for Lo’s fifth studio album, Dirt Femme, which ran from autumn 2022 and concluded the following October. Designed by creative director Charlie Twaddle with Samuel Burgess Johnson, its bold red cover and gothic lettering allude to a bygone era of prohibition, ​“when kissing was illegal”, while inside couples, throuples, friends and lovers lock lips, exhibiting the same sense of agency Lo typically champions in her music.

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Marking a resurgence of PDA, the book also highlights the relationship between kissing and the dancefloor, bedfellows for generations before 2020 halted things: the environment of a crowd coupled with the ecstasy of music provides a stage for comfort and connection, as photographer Derek Ridgers observed with his Hello I Love You images of young couples in London clubs from the 1970s through to the 1990s. Harry Styles’ decision to announce his Together Together tour with a series of snoggers, shot by Lebanese photographer Myriam Boulos, similarly speaks to this renewed embrace of euphoria, while Lo, as the architect behind tracks fusing emotional candour and fast-paced energy, is well positioned to examine the sensual and spontaneous act of a kiss at a concert.

“It’s the anticipation, the butterflies, the (when it’s really good) indication of what’s to come,” Lo says, reflecting on the formula that makes kissing, specifically, so exciting as a form of affection. Describing the broader state of intimacy, she recognises it as, ​“A very individual thing. I’m all about physical touch, but I guess real intimacy, in my mind, is when physical attraction, emotional connection and that last little piece that’s hard to define but you feel all aligned.” 

First meeting over a decade ago at SXSW in Austin, Lo and Laubbacher have since worked together on multiple projects, from photo shoots to music videos, but The Kiss Book is a different beast, developed in response partly to growing apathy toward the internet and social media, where more ephemeral content traditionally lives. ​“I think the need for something tangible and physical has been strong the last five years,” shares Lo. ​“Digital feels boring, so why not?” 

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Laubaccher adds, ​“Whenever we bring it up to people they’re surprised there aren’t more books on the subject,” alluding to the relative dearth of publications focused explicitly on kissing. ​“It’s amazing how a simple, fun idea has generally gone overlooked.

“One of my biggest surprises came when I first put all the images together and started sifting through them,” he continues. ​“Seeing so many people in such a state of joy and happiness brought me to tears. When we were originally making the book there was a real simplicity about wanting to celebrate love through art. We spoke about wanting to stay away from pandemic language because it was quite ubiquitous at the time. All these years later, this book being made in that time feels quite unique and gives it more meaning.”

The Kiss Book by Tove Lo & Kenny Laubbacher is published by Baron Books.

Zoe Whitfield is a freelance arts and photography writer. Follow her on Instagram.

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