qargo
The pixel, his source of inspiration
It was around the age of 5 that the artist discovered LEGO® : “a basic but incredibly extraordinary construction game that kept me busy for thousands of hours…”. At the time, there were no smartphones or consoles, just LEGO®s to fuel his creativity. Later, the teenager and young man he became was immersed in the emerging world of computers and consoles: Amstrad, Atari, Nintendo and the now legendary video games Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Tetris…
These games subtly anchored the pixel and Japanese culture in his daily life, nourishing a deep passion that would become a recurring and essential source of inspiration in his artistic universe. He is enthusiastic about games of all kinds, and his creativity expresses itself through the cerebral games he creates and publishes in specialized magazines.
At the same time, he leads a hectic, intense and sometimes intrusive professional life. Deep introspection led him to understand the irrepressible need to transcend the boundaries of professional success and find a more concrete meaning to his career. Beyond numbers and strategies, he discovers the power of artistic expression to “breathe his soul”, pass on what he has learned and convey his innermost convictions.
qargo symbolizes a journey to a space where ideas take visual form. His love of Asia fueled his inspiration when he discovered a QR code (then unknown in Europe) to pay for a bottle of water in the Pixel Tower in Bangkok in 2018. He then became interested in the story of its fascinating inventor, Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara. Memories of his childhood resurface, notably those simple moments spent building improbable LEGO® objects that left his caring parents in awe.
On his return, the artist wondered whether he could use his childhood toy to recreate a functional QR code – a symbol of digital modernism. The gamble paid off. qargo – a combination of QR code, Art and LEGO® – was born.
Pixels transform ideas into images and images into emotions.
qargo
The pixel, his source of inspiration
This is the artist’s face in 1975. It was around the age of 5 that he discovered LEGO® : “a basic but incredibly extraordinary building set that kept me busy for thousands of hours…”. In those days, there were no smartphones or consoles, just LEGO® to fuel his creativity. Later, as a teenager and then a young man, he was immersed in the emerging world of computers and consoles: Amstrad, Atari, Nintendo and the now legendary video games Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Tetris…
These games subtly anchored the pixel and Japanese culture in his daily life, nourishing a deep passion that would become a recurring and essential source of inspiration in his artistic universe. He’s enthusiastic about games of all kinds, especially brain games, and his creativity is expressed through the creation of crossword puzzles and then an original variant of Sudoku, which he invents and which spreads through numerous specialized magazines.
At the same time, he leads a hectic, intense and sometimes intrusive professional life as a start-up entrepreneur. Deep introspection led him to understand the irrepressible need to transcend the boundaries of professional success and find a more concrete meaning to his career. Beyond numbers and strategies, he discovers the power of artistic expression to “breathe his soul”, pass on what he has learned and convey his innermost convictions.
qargo symbolizes a journey to a space where ideas take visual form. His love of Asia fueled his inspiration when he discovered a QR code (then unknown in Europe) to pay for a bottle of water in the Pixel Tower in Bangkok in 2018. He then became interested in the story of its fascinating inventor, Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara. Memories of his childhood resurface, notably those simple moments spent building improbable LEGO® objects that left his caring parents in awe.
On his return, the artist wondered whether he could use his childhood toy to recreate a functional QR code – a symbol of digital modernism. The gamble paid off. qargo – a combination of QR code, Art and LEGO® – was born.
Inspired by this success and keen to pay tribute to the Japanese engineer, he created his first design. The front reveals the inventor’s face, while the back features a QR code linking to a dedicated web page celebrating Hara’s ingenuity. He then set about contacting the Japanese engineer. After a year’s hard work, he managed to arrange a long-distance discussion with Hara.
Touched and impressed by the original artistic detour of his invention, Hara expresses his enthusiasm for the artist’s work. The two men met in Tokyo at the end of 2023, and Qargo handed the work over to his mentor. Since then, a deep and sincere friendship has developed, marked by regular exchanges between them.
Inspired by this success and keen to pay tribute to the Japanese engineer, he created his first design. The front reveals the inventor’s face, while the back features a QR code linking to a dedicated web page celebrating Hara’s ingenuity. He then set about contacting the Japanese engineer. After a year’s hard work, he managed to arrange a long-distance discussion with Hara.
Touched and impressed by the original artistic detour of his invention, Hara expresses his enthusiasm for the artist’s work. The two men met in Tokyo at the end of 2023, and Qargo handed the work over to his mentor. Since then, a deep and sincere friendship has developed, marked by regular exchanges between them.
qargo
Key moments in the project
Pixel Tower Bangkok - the artist discovers the QR code when making a purchase.
2018
QR code explosion - Adopted during the pandemic, QR codes are now widely used in Europe
2020
Lego from his childhood - The artist finds Lego from his childhood at his parents' house. Pure chance?!
2021
Masahiro Hara - the artist crosses paths with the engineer who created the QR code.
2022
Space Invader, Tetris, Rubik's Cube: the artist rediscovers all these games built with pixels.
2022
Pixels, QR codes, Masahiro Hara, Lego, Invader… the desire to express one’s inner child took shape: qargo was born.
After a few prototypes, the artist officially launched the collection with Masahiro’s portrait (naturally).
qargo
The complete collection
qargo
The collection
“The front reveals the celebrity, the back its story with the QR code.”
