My photographic practice explores intimacy, vulnerability, and the search for connection in an increasingly digital world. This project documents my experiences of going on dates with strangers I met through dating apps, which I present through the visual language and structure of a dating app. By combining documentary photography with personal narrative, the work invites viewers into an experience that has become commonplace for many but remains unfamiliar and often misunderstood by others.

The project emerged from my own experiences of online dating and the contradictions that exist within it. Dating apps promise endless possibilities for connection, yet they can simultaneously create feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and exhaustion. Despite their widespread use, online dating still carries a stigma, with assumptions that relationships formed through digital platforms are somehow less authentic or meaningful. I was interested in challenging these perceptions by focusing on the real people and genuine moments that exist behind the screen.

Authenticity became central to my process. Rather than staging all the encounters or working with participants I already knew, I chose to go on real dates and document genuine interactions as they unfolded. In doing so, I positioned myself as both photographer and participant, allowing the work to become an extension of my own experiences while also creating space for the stories of others. Each date brought moments of anticipation, awkwardness, excitement, and vulnerability, revealing the emotional complexity of trying to form connections with strangers.

The project has been heavily influenced by Sophie Calle and Nan Goldin. Calle's ability to use her own life as a form of investigation encouraged me to place myself at the centre of the work and use personal experience as a means of exploring broader social behaviours. Goldin's intimate and uncompromising approach to documenting relationships inspired my desire to create images that feel honest, raw, and emotionally charged. Both artists demonstrated how deeply personal narratives can speak to collective experiences.

Ultimately, this body of work is about the universal desire for connection and the ways technology mediates our relationships. By adopting the familiar aesthetics of a dating app and presenting real encounters and stories, I hope to encourage viewers to reconsider their assumptions about online dating and recognise the humanity that exists within these digital spaces. Although rooted in my own experiences, the project reflects a shared condition of contemporary life: the ongoing and often complicated search for intimacy, understanding, and love.