【Black Magic Mask (2023)】

Illustrator Emmie Tsumura is Black Magic Mask (2023)documenting the fascinating world of online dating — one pickup line at a time.

Tsumura began her latest project, "OK Cucumber," after ending a long-term relationship. "I finally started dating online to get out of my rut," she told Mashable."But it was really hard and pretty depressing at times."

Right before Tsumura was about to throw in the towel, she decided to draw a few of the messages she received on apps like Tinder and OKCupid. She also drew each sender's profile photo.

Then, on a whim, she sent the illustrations to a friend, who loved them.

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"She laughed so hard that I knew I had to draw more," Tsumura said.

Now, the Toronto-based artist documents the brightest, basest and most bizarre in online come-hithers, posting each piece to her Instagram account. Some are clever. A few ("I haven't had a PopTart in forever") are hilariously random. Others read like online versions of sidewalk catcalls.

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Despite the lewdness of some of the messages, Tsumura insists that the project isn't intended to help her "cope" with online dating. Instead, she wants to create what she calls a "graphic survey" of her own experience — which does, in the end, prompt her to look at the messages through a different lens.

"Illustration has helped me to take a step back and observe what's happening," she said. "We are all reacting to what each person is putting out there."

Check out more selections from the project below.

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[H/T: BuzzFeed]

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