Tindermythology

The Challenge

1000 swipes. 100 matches. 10 Tindergoddesses.

The Greek philosopher Thales once said:
“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.”

So how will you be able to get to know yourself better?
Sagitta Creatives believes that lots of valuable
lessons come from meeting new people, lessons that can help you with self-reflection. Also, drawing a person in front of you is a pure and genuine form of listening to someone’s feelings, story & perspectives.

Tinder is a perfect medium to meet new people. Capturing this by creating Goddesses made it for us a valuable challenge.

One of Sagitta Creatives’ artist Jémuel Angela met up with women he matched with on Tinder and asked them if he could draw them as a new kind of Goddess for the drawing series: The Tindermythology. After more than 1000 swipes, 100 matches and 25 drawings, we selected the 10 most valuable Goddesses from whom Jémuel learned the most.

The Tinder rules were simple:

1. Swipe every woman. No judgements or preferences.
2. Ask every match on tinder whether she would like to be drawn as a Goddess.
3. Meet up with the match in her most comfortable place, where she can be her authentic, uninhibited self.
4. Draw the match during the meeting while listening to her stories and perspectives.
5. Reflect.

The Goddesses are placed in chronological order of meeting them. This order is leading as to be able to understand the story of the Goddesses and Jémuel the best.

The Start

Jémuel Angela:

“Looking back is glancing forward.
Starting the year as a wandering, fortune-seeking utopian.
In search for myself, seeking for happiness and balance.
However, in vain.

If looking back, is glancing forward,
then searching can never be finding.
Searching makes little sense, but finding does.
This is the trick to life.

The finding quest starts here.”

1. Goddess of Blind Trust: Kira

Location: At home – Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

“Trust without bias”

Kira, the Goddess of Blind Trust, is the first Goddess I have met. Filled with excitement and feeling a litte nervous, did I engage in the project, without knowing what to expect and how it would be experienced by both Kira and me. I have drawn Kira at her home in Rotterdam, on the balcony.

She is surrounded by Chrysanthemum: a flower that repesents luck, loyalty, honesty and friendship. The Chrysanthemum grows when Kira’s trust in you grows too. She trusts people blindly, which can seem naive, but she has taught me that it is not about trusting every stranger, but that it is about trusting people without visual judgement, without the eyes. It is about being vulnerable, only enough to keep the conversation open and transparant. You need to have the courage to show your innerself before someone else is able to do that with you. This is the only way you can grow like a Chrsanthemum. Kira trusted me blindly: she let a guy she met through Tinder enter her home, who claimed that he wanted to draw a picture of her. Most of the women I matched with on Tinder thought I was a catfish with a bad pick-up line. They questioned my motives.The only question Kira had was: “when do we start?”

2. Goddess of Inter-Balance: Esperanza

Location: At home – Tilburg, The Nederlands

“Find balance within balances”

The second Goddess that I drew was Esperanza. This time I was a lot less nervous and with blind trust took the drawing session place at her own home in Tilburg. Esperanza represents the balance within
balances. A Goddess who thinks rationally, but acts impulsively. She is careful in the present, but doesn’t look towards the furture. Esperanza could be a demigoddess, exactly in blance, but not really. She doesn’t really feel at home anywhere, always somewhere in between. The trick is to balance precisely in this in-between piece. If she had to sum up some of people’s entire lifes in a few words, she would say: an endless resistances towards what is. When we resist, we are in constant motion, as we try to adapt. And still we remain unhappy about something that is just there. We must completely accept this. When we decide to do this, we remain balancing in the middle of everything.

3. Goddess of Dance: Daya

Locatie: Sagitta Creatives Studio – Breda, The Netherlands

“Keep moving”

Esperanza got me thinking: I don’t want to resist, but I do want to keep moving. The quest continued to the third Goddess: Daya the Goddess of Dance. I drew Daya in our studio. This was the most comfortable location for her. Daya dances as she walks. She’s light-footed as if she is floating through the clouds. Daya told me that movement doesn’t always have to be resistance. Movement is dance, and dancing is making steps. On my way to where I need to be, away from where I was. Keep moving because eventually you will feel the rythm.

4. Goddess of Pain: Arinna Ky

Locatie: Noorderplas – Tilburg, The Netherlands

“You make the most beautiful things with pain in your heart”

While moving between balances and with blind trust, allowed Arinna Ky for me to see the confronting beauty of pain. Arinna Ky wears a lot of masks. A mask for each day that shows how she feels.These are masks of the pain that she experiences every day. It is actually confronting to witness and to hear about it, however, she is also a little ray of sunlight despite the pain. As much as I like the sun, I know it is painful for her. Nevertheless, she actually uses the pain as energy. The energy of imagination. Fire is the sign of life. It breathes and it can feel nice, but it is also disruptive. However, thanks to this pain, you will make the most beautiful things. Arinna Ky was a mystery to me. I could not really read her as she switched her mood very quickly at times. She also told me this: “You are colouring within the lines of freedom.” Till this day, I have still no idea what she ment by this and she will never tell me

5. Goddess of Power: Joline

Locatie: Park Valkenberg – Breda, The Netherlands

“Sometimes the cup of poison needs to be empty”

One of the most fundamental quantities in physics is force. Joline is the Goddess of these fundamental quantities. Arinna Ky told me that pain is a
beautiful power to use. Joline wanted to put that into practice. Lots of strenght is needed for that. Joline was drawn in Park Valkenberg and the evening continued in bars and cafes. It was a Monday night and I had to get up early the next day. Unfortunately, Joline told me that sometimes the poison cup really needs to be emptied. This will give you more strenght, she said..I did feel that, especially the next day.

6. Goddess of Pride: Truce

Locatie: Steenplein – Antwerp, Belgium 

“Be a Bossbitch”

We have been working on this drawing project for a while now. It is beginning to feel like a habit by now: swiping, matching, asking and drawing. Part of my working day. I decided to expand my Tinder area, and look abroad – Belgium. I met Truce, the Goddess of Pride and personification of a lioness. I drew Truce alongside the water at Steenplein, Antwerp.Truce became a great asset for Sagitta Creatives. Truce lives by her own quote: “Be a Bossbitch.” One of the purest people that I have ever met. No filter, no fancy words, everything raw. Truce opened the doors of Antwerp to Sagitta Creatives. Sagitta Creatives had a love affair with Antwerp that still exist of passion and creativity. If Sagitta decides to marry Antwerp, then Truce will be the mistress of ceremonies.

7. Goddess of Not Knowing: Nienke

Location: Hoog Catharijne – Utrecht, The Netherlands

“Too much choice makes people unhappy”

Nienke, the Goddess of Not Knowing, does not know many things about her future. Nienke is drawn in the Hoog Catharijne shopping center near Utrecht Central station. She leaves the uncertainty she has over her future for what it is. Nienke told me that “not knowing things” creates space and an open perspective in your head. You have to learn to accept the things you can’t change. Limiting yourself in choices is actually a valuable gift.

8. Goddess of Letting Go: Dani

Location: ‘t Hart – Breda, The Netherlands

“Knowledge wants to speak, Wisdom wants to listen”

The drawing session with Dani took place in Café ‘t Hart in Breda. Dani was the first Goddess to touch my feelings in an unexpected way. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to have a certain affection for someone. Dani is
spirtually inclined and managed to fascinate me with it. Her energy made me very calm, almost forgetting to draw her. I wanted to see Dani more often and learn more and more about her, beyond the TIndermythology. Dani said lowkey: “Knowledge wants to speak, Wisdom wants to listen.” A statement that kept me quiet and made me realise that I have to learn to let go of many things. Sometimes you also have to omit the knowledge you want to express. And as much as you would like something, it may not be the thing you should want. Later on, Dani went on a roadtrip far away from me. And listening to wisdom, I moved on with the Tindermythology.

9. Goddess of Cool Tranquility: Deems

Location: Walking – Raamsdonksveer, the Netherlands

“When your mind is calm, so is the world.”

Eight Goddesses deep and we continue with Deems as the ninth Goddess. In the meantime, we are already many Tinder swipes further. It is a busy period with many impressions and the motivation in the project is weakening. When do I want to be ready? How am I going to shape this? What did I learn? My head is cloudy and the overview is hard to find. Deems, Goddess of Cool Tranquility, offered the solution. Deems loves ice skating. Contrary to me, I hate it. Deems was always cool and calm. I admire that about her. She told me, “When your mind is calm, so is the world.” If I gave ice a chance, it could feel warm too. We walked a lot and talked a lot. It was exactly what I needed at the time: a little walk. As my mind calmed down, I actually began to see how quiet the world can be, especially in a village like Raamsdonksveer.

10. Goddess of Free Mind: Narelle

Location: the Beach – Hoek van Holland, The Netherlands

“Have fun”

The last and most valuable Tindergoddess for me: Narelle. After Deems, I decided for myself that the Tindermythology was coming to an end. A calm mind is a calm world and I thought that was a nice ending. However, I came across one last Tindergoddess: Narelle. I met Narelle on a quiet Wednesday evening. Our new websie had gone live that day and we celebrated that with a couple of drinks in the city centre. Narelle came towards me and started talking about the bad music they were playing in the bar. A nice little converstation ensued, but that was it. I came across Narelle a day later on Tinder during my daily swipe session. We matched and I asked the notorious Tinder goddess question. Narelle was very skeptical at first, but since we both agreed the music was bad the day before, I got the benefit of the doubt. We met up and I found out that I was hooked on Narelle’s energy. I didn’t want to admit it, but I loved it.

The End

The finding quest is never finished, because balance is not a fixed state of being, but finding space & silence between a change. After more than 1000 swipes and 100 matches, I can look back with satisfaction at these 10 Tinder Goddesses and the lessons they taught me:

Trust without bias and find balance between balances. Keep moving and if you fall, use the pain and strength. Sometimes you have to push through the pain and be a boss bitch. Accept what you can’t change and let it go. Keep your mind calm, because then the world will be too and most importantly: don’t forget to have fun.

The year ends wandering,
But not seeking happiness.
Just enjoying all the Tinder Goddesses.