Square Limit 1964

M.C. Escher made this black and white print of tessellated fish, all of which are angled to swim towards the square's border. I love how he’s got these fish swimming in formation, a bit like planes in the sky, each one neatly tucked in next to the other. You can almost see him at his desk, squinting and starting to feel a bit seasick, because the image keeps folding in on itself. The deeper you go, the smaller the fish become. It's such a clever illusion, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in printmaking. Escher invites us to consider the infinite in the finite, and it’s almost like a visual metaphor for how artists build on each other's work. Each generation takes something from the last, adding their own splash of color to keep the conversation going. It’s a kind of infinity loop of creativity.