TINDERELLA

The body of work is a collection of black and white portraits taken at the conclusion of each first date. Over a two-month period I went on a total of 17 first dates, 11 of which allowed me to take their portrait and 11 that resulted in follow up dates.

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The aim for my project was to document my experience with Tinder, a dating app famous for it’s hook-up culture. I wanted to tell my story, the people I met, and the adventures we went on. The body of work is a collection of black and white portraits taken at the conclusion of each first date. Over a two-month period I went on a total of 17 first dates, 11 of which allowed me to take their portrait and 11 that resulted in follow up dates.

I wanted to approach the project with a level of honesty that opened me up to the possibility of experiencing a genuine connection with the people I was dating. I believe the resulting portraits are a reflection of a number of factors; the dynamic between myself and the person I was photographing, how much I had to drink throughout the course of the date, how tired I was and my level of attraction both physically and mentally.

Initially I intended to inform each person of my project before the date but found I had a much higher success rate explaining the project in person. I never pressured anyone into having their photo taken, accepting their decision as final. The most common concern was that of being objectified. Most people wanted me to confirm my interest in them as a person and not simply as an art project. In this way, I saw it as a swapping of traditional gender roles – posing the question that perhaps men and women aren’t all that different? Perhaps the stereotype is a reaction to the dynamic imposed upon women by a male dominated society. Change the power dynamic however and you achieve the same result.

I also felt that the decision to allow me to take their portrait was a direct reflection of their level of self-esteem. Those with high self-esteem felt confident with their identity and appearance as an individual and had no issue being compared to others within a larger body of work.

Dealing with my own emotions and the emotions of 17 others in such a short period of time was exhausting. At the conclusion of the project, I experienced what I referred to as ‘Tinder Hangover’ and although I believe the app to be a great way to meet people in a modern world where time is such a precious commodity, I am happy to no longer be an active member of the Tinder community.

In an unexpected but positive turn of events, several people uploaded their portraits to their Tinder profiles and have reported a significant increase in their Tinder success. I am happy to have been a part of this process and grateful to everyone involved for their open mindedness.

* Initially I was only going to include the portraits from the people who let me photograph them but I felt that it didn’t tell the full story or represent the scope of the project. I also felt that by including the avatars, I was linking the project back to the anonymity of the online world.

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