Whirlpools 1957

M.C. Escher made this print called "Whirlpools" using ink on paper, and the process is laid bare for us to see. The graphic black and white of the image pushes and pulls, sucks you in, like the whirlpool it’s depicting. I love the texture of the various elements: the spiky fins, the fish bodies making up the spiral. It's so mesmerizing! It's easy to get lost in the details, the repeating fish eye motifs. Escher was obsessed with patterns, with mathematical precision. This is what the piece is about, and what it reminds me of – how artists can take a simple gesture and build something utterly complex. Its a bit like Bridget Riley, but weirder.