The Island of the Day Before Regained (2013) presents a dramatic aerial scene: two German Messerschmitts pursue a U.S. Army bomber, poised on the brink of collision with a Man-O-War ship. The absence of a horizon line creates a disorienting perspective, immersing the viewer in a dive-bombing trajectory toward the central aircraft and the stranded sailing vessel—both depicted from above.

Ship masts, airplane insignia, ocean waves, and fluttering flags—Morley revels in the intricacy of his compositions, layering visual complexity upon complexity. His meticulous approach to painterly illusion is encapsulated in his own words:

"My eyes look at an object and translate it into what I call ‘painterliness,’ which is pre-imagining the object has already been painted in my mind. It’s a continuous rehearsal of looking at the world as if it’s made of paint." – Malcolm Morley