A young, handsome man dressed in casual clothes lies pensively on a lambskin rug on the floor. Next to him is a laptop with the dating platform GayRomeo displayed on the screen. The young man’s name is Andrea Candela, and the installation by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset is named after him.
On GayRomeo, Andrea Candela’s username is “razorlight,” and his profile description reads: “Italian student, gay, single.” His intention: “Just looking around to meet some cool guys.” Sexual preference: “Like both equally.” Candela’s profile was created with a photo of the deceptively real wax figure and is publicly visible to users of the dating platform.
When this work was created in 2006, GayRomeo was the largest and most influential online dating platform for gay, bisexual, and trans men in Europe.
Elmgreen & Dragset explore the question of how the increasingly web-based search for partners affects the identity formation of young people, especially within the queer community. As an openly gay artist duo, they address the need for belonging and emotional community, as well as the frustration and loneliness that often accompany the use of dating platforms.