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Hell'O Monsters represents 4 artists: Antoine Detaille (Tatone), François Dieltiens (Desro), Jérôme Meynen (Blastus) et Grégory Van Cleemput (Ewing 33), they are all influenced by the images and the lively colors of the popular culture (US comics and other japanese toys) and inspired by the compositions and the forms of expressions found in painters like Hieronymus Bosch, James Ensor or even Keith Haring. The pieces of Hell’O Monsters show a spontaneous and assiduous research where monsters with several eyes, mutated animals, trepanated humans and other small fellows express a carnival atmosphere with a rather freaky vibe.

I met Blast and Tat close to place Flagey, under a beautiful sun!

What's your background, your studies?
Tat : I used to study art in "carrée des arts" in Mons with option "image dans le milieu" (comparable with "urban space" at la cambre) and a master in dolphintraining in Brugges.
Blast : Doctor in the art history from ULB (Nivelles) and owner of the touc-touc in Dunkerk.

What's your technique? (stickers-spray...?)
Tat: Stickers, sprays,markers, acrylic for painting and walls and chinese ink for paper illustration, illustrator and 3D software, pâte à sel, stones, paper,scissors,...
Blast : We are in a permanent evolution, our drawings and our technique evolve. Recently we experimented with animated wall paintings, it was an installation that combined painting, sculpture, drawing and video. Of course, when things are working out like we wanted, we go on with the technique. but we always keep our personal and individual style, we are always trying to create bigger composition where the individual works of the team is mixed in an homogenic result.

What is the origin of your name?
Tat : In 2003, we picked up that name after having a talk about the increase of the cost of life.

With who would you like to collaborate/do an exhibition?
Tat: I already had the opportunity to collaborate with ESCIF in Valencia (Spain). In the future, i would like to paint with RICHARD COLEMAN, REMED , BLU, MATTHEW PALLADINO, HERBERT BAGLIONE, WU TANG, KATY PERRY, some midgets, weird and marginal peoples
Blast : It doesn't really matter to me, the most important is the affinities I have with them and their talent. A collaboration could be a good moment to share.

What is your goal, your message (if you got one)?
Tat : The creations of our collectif, under their colorated and happy look, are a comment on the duality of the human nature. In our pieces, you will often find opposites like the human and the inhuman, the life and the dead, the organic and the spiritual, the serious and the burlesque, the religious and the iconoclast...

If you had to run away, to which city would you run?
Tat : New-york !
Blast: San Fransisco.

Which city do you belong to, does that city have a lot of influence on you?
Tat : We don't belong to a specific city, we consider ourself as citizen of the world. YES WE CAN!

Wich city would match your univers?
Tat : Lourdes.
Blast:… or "Saint Jacques de Compostelle"

What playlist for a good night out?
Tat : a bit of everything : b more, fidget, hiphop, crunk but also some good old psyche rock and some punk.
Blast: Mainly rock, Black lips, 13th floor elevator, The ruby suns, They might be giants.....

What's your opinion about the graffiti in Belgium?
Tat : we don't have an opinion about it, we have less and less afinity with that technique. We are still connected to a lot of people in the graffiti milieu (through our friends that are still doing it). We don't say that what we are doing is better or worse, it is just something else.
Blast : We know that it exists and that it's cool, it's just not really our thing anymore.

Is the graffiti mainly a hiphop discipline for you?
Tat : No, most of the graffers aren't b-boys. It s really a movement that touch every style, you can even find some émo kids in the montana shop!
Blast : To think that it's just a hiphop movment is really a big cliché.

You prefer train, stib or walls?
Tat : Walls.

A funy story you want to share with us?
Tat : Once i pressed a nail in my foot by walking on it.
Blast : Nothing never happens to me. nothing bad, but also nothing good...

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Tat : in a night shop late during the night
Blast : 10 years older...

No arm, no....?
Tat : No hands...?

Gauffre de Liège ou choux de bruxelles?
Tat : I don't like cabbage. so waffels!...or cabbage from liege?
Blast : Paninis "Météors" from Mons

Is the clothing style important for you?
Tat : Yes, i really like to dress!
Blast : I just dress myself every day without thinking about tomorrow!

What's your latest works? On what are you working right now?
Blast : We did an intervention in a parc in La Louvière, the release of our new book "carnival of charlatans", we did a fresco for the retrospective of Keith Harring in Mons, decoration of the showcase of Kartell in the centre of Brussels, we had a stand at the fair d' art brussels.
For our forthcoming exhibition, we ll be in the Montana shop in Sevilla (Spain) in September and a solo show at the gallery "think21" in Brussels in January 2010.

Quelque liens ou trouver plus d’infos sur les Hell’O monsters

Galerie think21: http://www.think21gallery.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hellomonsters

Desro: http://www.myspace.com/drdesro

Ewing33: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greg_ewing/

Flickr: Blastus: http://www.flickr.com/photos/Blast_hello

Tatone: http://www.flickr.com/photos/Tat0n3/

and very very soon http://www.thehellomonsters.com

As cherry on the top, the IYB logo by Hello Monsters!