Visual
Those biting into their potato burritos at Bellingham’s Casa Que Pasa restaurant this month and next may wonder if the popular eatery has turned into some sort of treasure hunt headquarters.
Blame Mat Hudson, a 24-year-old graphic designer whose display, dubbed “Danger Island,” started with a large map on the front wall of the eatery.
Week by week, the exhibit is steadily growing to encompass a story about three siblings who, after gathering in their aunt’s home to celebrate her death, are sucked through an enchanted painting into a mysterious world full of terrors, challenges, adventure and locales with odd names such as Ocular Lake, the Edge of Danger, Plains of Regret, Undead Wood, and Fort Xian.
Hudson says the exploits of Rocky, Lydia, and Elliott are the direct result of his love of books by the likes of C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)—in other words, fantastical tomes that involve being transported to another world.
“The idea was kind of a young adult novel that I was working on,” Hudson says. “It’s a less serious take on the whole fantasy thing.”
But back to that “Danger Island” map. Although it’s currently displayed in such a way that it’s the focal point of the action, Hudson says he’ll be adding images to the exhibit every Monday through February to help move along the story—which he hopes to publish someday in its entirety.
The map of the area the kids get transported to, Hudson says, connect to screen shots and images of what will be in the book. By adding to it publicly, and in a public space, he hopes to share the process of trying to create a new world, and a new work.
“This way it feels fresh each week,” Hudson says, “and also alleviates creating an entire large show at one time. I wanted to take my time with it, and I like the idea of what it’s going to become.”
Although he already knows how the adventure will end, Hudson says there’s a good chance those keeping track of the plot will have to wait awhile to see it come to its conclusion. When its run at Casa comes to a close, he’s hoping to move the action to a different venue—and keep doing so until it reaches its natural finale.
“I know that it is 14 chapters,” Hudson explains. “I also know the kids are on a fetch-quest of sorts, and have 12 things they have to obtain in order to leave the island. Each chapter exists on its own as an episode, and each chapter has a different feel to it depending on what their task is. At this point, I’m focusing on images and characters.”
Hudson says the project has also been a great way to stay connected with his family in Michigan. He’s been consulting with his 12-year-old brother on whether the strange ideas he’s bringing to life are funny or believable to a kid of his age, and will continue to do so throughout the entire “Danger Island” process.
“It’s nice to have that,” Hudson says. “It’s also great to have a show I can create as it goes along, which I find to be a lot more fun that something that just goes up on the wall and then comes right down.”
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