"Art is what makes life more interesting than art."
Amidst my own heart breaks over the years, I began setting people up on dates and filming them on their first romantic encounter. I did this, not because I'm a particularly gifted match-maker, but as a way to connect with others about their dating and relationship experiences.
I always end up feeling more responsible and invested towards the daters than I probably should. Again, not because I strongly desire to bring a long-lasting couple into being. Actually, the very thought of that makes me cringe terribly. When it comes to matters of the heart, it becomes clear how sensitive and perplexed we actually are.
Being filmed on a date always adds another layer of vulnerability and perhaps something unpredictable. By filming dates, I observe how the dater's presentation of the self is performed and how we as watchers interpret the performance.
Watching how other people interact and perform can also be a guide for me (and you!). For me, the act of filming de-constructs social etiquette, both around us and within T.V. dating shows. Throughout this dating project, not only do I hear the daters' experience of their encounter, but many other people's experiences when I am making and exhibiting the work. At its core, it's a way to learn about each other's love lives, desires, hopes and fears.
The exhibition "Love on Piotrkowska" at Pracownia Portretu consists of a series of paintings which act as traces from previous dates in Rotterdam and a new film of a date shot in Łódź.
Sophie Bates
The project "Five Exhibitions for the 10th Anniversary of the Pracownia Portretu is realized thanks to funding from the budget of the City of Łódź.