It’s been a long time since I looked through a kaleidoscope, but Philip Taaffe’s paintings have a similar effect on the eye. With a rich pictorial language infused with symbols and motifs drawn from cultures all over the world, Taaffe’s multi media paintings are a visual feast. Think psychedelic patterns, high wattage colours, and dynamic compositions. “I want a very generous experience [for the viewer of my work]. I want to give the viewer a lot and I want the viewer to feel transported and to feel that I am delivering something from this journey I’ve been on. I want them to feel that,” he says. Here, the lizards look like they’re dancing on a marble effect dance floor and this floral motif (below) looks like a choir of tulips, dahlias and dandelions. His paintings definitely take us somewhere else; to India, to Japan, to the moon.