(This article first appeared in the May 24 issue of The Independent Newspaper)
In our highly technological society, supersaturated with images off the internet, Belgian artist Joel Moens de Hase began using computers for digital works in 2011. The observer is sure to be intrigued, perhaps even aroused, by a single perspicuous image that when closely analyzed includes the use of thousands of provocative shrunken down images – squares of butts, lingerie, waistlines, and so forth.
In an effort to express his view of the digital era, Moens keeps a database of 70,000 images from the internet on file. He then transforms between 5000 and 15,000 of these images into a single mosaic, after adjusting the color to fit the larger picture. His artistic expression allows for dual interpretation, the whole or the fragment. Beauty, lust, and innocence remain very much in the eye of the beholder.
Moens procures his inspiration from the mystery of women, his work being a tribute to all the aspects that make up the beautiful complexities of the gentler sex. At the heart of it all, the symbiosis between man and woman is what fuel Moens’s creative process; the passionate desire and innate human condition of that sense of longing between the two beings. Human nature aside, it’s also the Woman, with a capital ‘W,’ a divine creator that is both independent and full of the love he adores.
“All her personality and mystery,” Moens exulted. “Their beauty. Their strength. Their battles. Their unicity. Their complexity, so different from man.”
As a painter for several years prior to the switch in artistic style, Moens decided to use the tools of today to create his increasingly unique pieces.
“My computer screen became my canvas, my mouse replaced my brushes, and the internet and software became the medium.”
Moens translated the differences. “My art is of course a mirror of my personal emotions, my life experience with good and bad moments.”
The composition of his work is far more important than the models that compose each individual image. He finds models through an official agency for the large pictures, with a particular liking for Poland native Olga Kaminska. Yet, it is the emotional uniqueness of a model that attracts his attention most.
Scenes of the female form and rendition tributes of classical artworks are primarily what comprise Moens’s collection. Right now he is working on a collaboration with a major group of European galleries, to be announced at a later time, that he hopes will bring his career to a higher level.
With an international following, he maintains a liberated spirit that is futuristic in nature.
Moens met local gallery owner Monika Olko four years ago through a mutual friend. Ever since their introduction he has been visiting The Hamptons seasonally, with plans to explore the North Fork and Montauk this summer.
His creative motto, “Develop your creativity, it brings happiness and it is the future of humanity,” bring his concept of a self-portrayal design saying, “I would be the musical instrument the model is holding.”