Artists James Taylor and Nick de Maid announce the launch of Dazzling Identities, a striking new book inspired by the bold and bewildering naval dazzle camouflage patterns of the First and Second World Wars. Beautifully produced in a 297mm x 105mm format, this 167-page volume comes presented in a custom slipcase that echoes the dramatic moment a ship slides down the slipway — a fitting tribute to the vessels that inspired it.

Dazzling Identities celebrates the artistry and ingenuity behind dazzle-painted ships — from destroyers and frigates to aircraft carriers and minesweepers — vessels that once carried the optical illusions of war across the world’s oceans.

Reflecting both his mastery of precision and his background as a celebrated botanical artist, Nick de Maid brings a unique perspective to the subject, culminating in his inspired “Flower Classification of Ship”, a reimagining of naval taxonomy through the lens of natural beauty and design.

Drawing on the pictorial recognition manuals once used aboard ships to distinguish friend from foe, this book fuses military history, fine art, and graphic design. It explores how the visual strategies of war — pattern, distortion, and identity — remain relevant in today’s branded, image-conscious world.

Dazzling Identities is both an act of remembrance and reinvention: a contemporary reflection on the ways in which art once helped to disguise, and now helps us to see.

The authors would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the late Stuart Gough, whose generosity of spirit, depth of knowledge, and genuine passion for maritime history left a lasting impression.

Retailing on line and at;
Zavens, Royal Tunbridge Wells
Arran Heritage Museum

ISBN 978-1-0369-1975-7