Square Peg snares Tanguy's visual decluttering guide

Square Peg has signed a guide and “call-to-arms" around visual decluttering, The Visual Detox: How to Consume Media Without Letting it Consume You, by art expert Marine Tanguy. 

Marianne Tatepo, publishing director, acquired world all-language rights from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown. It will publish on 7th March 2024.

The blurb reads: “We are constantly being bombarded with more visual information than we choose to be, or that our minds can consciously process. This sensory overload can seriously affect our mental health – but by unpacking this information, we can harness the positive impact of today’s rich visual culture.  

“In The Visual Detox, art expert and businesswoman Marine Tanguy shares new tools to break down the messages that you see each day, helping you to take control of your ‘visual diet’. Learn how to decode the hidden messages from your commute, workplace and home environment and hack the language of visuals to improve your wellbeing through small yet effective changes to your digital hygiene, media consumption and decorating choices.”  

Tanguy said: “The Visual Detox is more than a book; it’s a vision to shift our relationship with images and to give people agency over the information they look at passively rather than purely being on the receiving end of thousands of commercial visuals.  

“At a time when AI and fake imagery are on the rise, understanding who makes images, the impact they have and how they shape us is key. It feels necessary for this book to be published now and it’s a start in widening our access to visual education to empower the next generation to shape their own visual narrative.” 

Tatepo commented: “Marine’s dedication to visual literacy is second-to-none. This is a call-to-arms to interrogate the visual messages in ads, social media and the press with the same rigour as written messages.  

“A real trailblazer, Marine empowers readers to tackle our most mindless habits, which sometimes can impact wellbeing the most, from our self-esteem to our stress levels. Drawing on pioneering behavioural science and art history, The Visual Detox promotes tiny changes that will help readers engage with information on their own terms and find renewed focus and calm amidst the noise.” 

Tanguy is the c.e.o. and founder of the MTArt Agency, a talent agency based in London. She managed her first gallery aged 21 and then an art gallery in Los Angeles at 23.

Tanguy was awarded Forbes’ 2018 30 under 30 along with other prizes from the NatWest Awards and WOTC Magazine. She is a writer and keynote speaker on contemporary art, art investment and how art can be used to shape our lives. Her talks include two TEDx Talks on how to transform cities with art and how social media visuals affect our minds.