pixelated shape-shifter

so the other night while seriously pondering my next artistic direction,
i started thinking about the exciting world of super mario bothers 3...
what sparked my thinking on the subject was the flatness of the mario universe, all those one-dimensional shapes & harsh drop shadows...i have been drawn to that aesthetic lately.

while i would actually consider mario 2 my favorite of the old school mario games... 3 really seemed to take mario to a whole new level (ha ha). one of the most exciting developments was the magical secret of the white blocks: if mario jumped onto a white block and crouched down for 5 seconds, he would fall right through the block and suddenly have the ability to move about behind the scenery!

it was as though you were suddenly transported behind the scenes and moving about in some parallel universe...this was simply unheard of, and it added a whole new dimension to the very flat world our little hero inhabited. i want to tap into that in-between layer... insert myself/the viewer/my subject into such a space where unknown possibilities lie just under reality's surface.

or maybe i just need to play some old-school nintendo..