Descending into the Dalhousie Art Gallery when its walls were papered with Douglas Walker's intricate, monochromatic paintings was kind of like falling down the rabbit hole. The world at the bottom of the stairs was an overwhelming one at first. Transfixed by the blanket of that inky, bold cobalt blue and the sheer size of the surrounding works, I had to take a moment to let the exhibit as a whole consume me. Struck by the multiple wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor paintings in my periphery, it was like I had just discovered new territory, or landed on another planet. With my head tilted back—swivelling from left to right and back again, my mouth likely agape—it was hard to know where to let my eyes and curiosity take me first.
But even better than that immediate moment of discovering the exhibition Other Worlds was the closer look. And I couldn't get close enough. Like any fantasy world, there are bits of familiarity in Walker's work. His paintings (which are numbered, not named) provide an interesting juxtaposition between fine art illustrations and exotic, bizarre outsider art. Iconic images (like a full moon, a whale and a white-capped wave), ethereal landscapes and blunt modern structures are filled in with fine detail. And while the images are recognizable, that detail is in a league of its own. Delicate lines, veins, webs and varied brushstrokes fill out these subjects with the complexity of a blueprint, giving off an almost hypnotic power that pulls you in, mesmerizing you like the illusion of a Magic Eye poster.
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