Dagmara Bilon
Hungryforhumancontact
This project will result in a webpage archiving the exchanges between artist Dagmara Bilon and her Tinder matches. It explores sexuality, intimacy and the lack of it during the first London lockdown.
” It shook me that from the first day I joined Tinder, the day after I started painting again for the first time since a long time. I strongly believe there is an intrinsic connection between sexuality and creativity, and in times of sexual deprivation, art could be a path worth exploring.’’
Dagmara Bilon
London, March 2020-Lockdown.
69 Matches (58 men, 7 women, 3 non binary)
33 Chats (31 men, 2 woman)
16 transcribed Chats (16 men)
13 art interventions (13 men)
2 transcribed interviews (2men)
1 psychomagic act
Artist Dagmara Bilon is stuck at home with projects suspended. She dreams that Corona is a female Vampire who has come to seek revenge on humans. Sitting with magnified feelings of loneliness, deprived of human contact, Bilon took this rare opportunity to explore the digital landscape of online dating and joined Tinder as the personification of Corona the Vampire.
Hungryforhumancontact follows Corona the Vampire’s journey on Tinder and her efforts to push through spheres of loneliness, to shine a light into people’s realities related to dating, their fantasies, fears and longings in these peculiar times. She wants to open up possibilities for human contact outside the ‘ordinary’ encounters via a ‘make art instead of sex’ invitation orchestrated by her on Tinder.
Hungryforhumancontact webspace is an archive documenting this social art experiment and includes a selection of anonymous chats, transcribed interviews and the Tinder matches artwork. The site is live and aims to follow Corona’s ‘make art instead of sex’ interventions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘According to a survey of UK adults which took place during lockdown, one in four said they had feelings of loneliness (24%). In a matter of weeks, social distancing left millions more people in the UK feeling isolated. Long term loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and increased stress. (mental health foundation UK,2020)’