MEDIA RELEASE
For release: 10 June 2014
The playful, provocative world of Joël Moens de
Hase
Everything is not as it seems at Tighnabruaich Gallery, Argyll, Scotland. A familiar
image, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring currently dominates the window display.
From a distance it looks as though this famous painting has simply been
reinterpreted using the pointillist technique.
In one sense it has, but that reading of the image doesn’t tell the whole story. The work’s
creator, Belgian artist Joël Moens de Hase, uses a digital art technique that combines
elements of pointillism and pixel art to create photomontage mosaic images that are at once
fascinating, clever and provocative.
Penny and Andrew spotted Joël’s work at the Brussels Affordable Art Fair in February this
year and couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“We walked round the fair three times and kept being drawn back to Joël’s exhibition stand,”
said Andrew. “It was only at the third time of asking that I took a closer look at one image and
that was when the uniqueness of his work was revealed.”
Joël’s photomontages are comprised of between 7,000 and 17,000 separate images of
intimate feminine curves in varying states and positions, clad in all manner of materials or
simply unclad. They are culled from a variety of sources, including fashion photos or
advertisements, mail order catalogues, electronic periodicals, eye-catching websites and
much more besides.
“The images are beautifully created and superbly presented,’ said Penny. ‘We loved the
creativity that shone through. On top of that they were clearly the work of a serious artist who
wants his work to put a smile on people’s faces.”
Once back in the UK the couple contacted Joël to express an interest in selling his work.
They have since become his sole UK agent.
Joël’s work clearly struck a chord with the art-buying public of Argyll. “Of the initial eight
works that Joël sent us, six sold within just a few weeks of their arrival,” said Andrew. “That
makes Joël one of our fastest-selling artists.”
Joël’s photomosaics first emerged in 2011and rapidly gathered a following both in Belgium
and abroad, with exhibitions in New York, Hong Kong and Seoul among others. This is the
first time his work has been shown in the UK. Joël said: ‘It’s a pleasure to be working with
Andrew and Penny at Tighnabruaich Gallery, as they’re real art lovers, and to see such a
positive response to my art in the UK.’
And it seems that Joël’s work may be a sound investment too. For any given work, the artist
first creates a series of eight images. If they sell he produces eight more and sells them at a
higher price. If the second edition sells out a final run of eight more is made, again at a
higher price, to complete a limited edition of 24 pieces.
A new batch of Joël’s work has just arrived at the Tighnabruaich Gallery this week and is
now on display. These pieces include one based on The Kiss by Klimt
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. For further information contact Penny or Andrew Graham-Weall on andrew@tig-
gallery.com or 01700 811681.
2. Tighnabruaich Gallery specialises in contemporary art and features a diverse and
affordable range of work. As well as showing work by favourite artists, it holds a
series of exhibitions throughout the year. The gallery sits at the heart of the seaside
village of Tighnabruaich, Argyll, on Scotland’s west coast, where the landscape and
light have inspired generations of artists.
3. Hi-res photos of Joël’s work are available.
1. Low-res photos attached: Victoria Bleu, Adoration Bleu, Striptease