D’Haese describes himself as an “action painter” and admits a debt of inspiration to Jackson Pollock. The fibreglass elephants, some of which were recently placed around the centre of Antwerp, are all decorated by artists and sold to raise money for elephant preservation.
 
Last week, the Flemish artist was in Amsterdam for the auction at Christie’s of a set of elephants, including the one he action-painted in the Euronext and another done for the Dutch Avro TV channel (see video, below), with proceeds going to protect the Asian elephant in Thailand.
 
The Accessible Art Fair aims to bring artists and their public together on first-name terms. Artists are there on the spot, ready to talk and explain their art to potential buyers. (Caveat emptor: the presence of the actual artist can make it difficult not to cave in and buy something.)
 
D’Haese had a “very pleasant” experience at last year’s fair: “It makes art accessible, which is a great thing. It’s not because you’re starting to make a name for yourself that you have to only create art for money,” he says.
 
The 44-year-old is the son of a prominent family: his mother is sculptor Begga D’Haese, and his late father Herman Le Compte was a controversial gerontologist, suspended for 20 years for his ideas, but eventually reinstated by the European Court of Human Rights.
 
D’Haese has one operating principle: “I’ve decided I’m going to be world-famous within five years.”
 
It’s no idle boast. Other artists at the fair may present work that is more, shall we say, polished. But few can claim to have sold paintings to Prince Albert of Monaco, to have designed a car for Citroen, to have developed personalised painted coffins together with actor Axel Daeseleire or to have the support of Diane Von Furstenburg and the former Camilla Parker-Bowles for his London appearance in 2010.
 
Five years may be erring on the side of caution.
 
www.accessibleartfair.com
www.hannesdhaese.be