"Bewildering Scheme" by artist Joe Worley is based on a camouflage paint scheme used on ships during World Wars 1 and 2.
Dazzle painting was a complex pattern of geometric shapes in contrasting colours designed by English artist Sir Norman Wilkinson to confuse the visual rangefinders used by warships, and submarine periscopes.
The camouflage did not conceal the ship, but made it difficult for the enemy to estimate its type, size, speed and heading.
"The pattern has been on my mind for quite a while. I saw HMS Belfast on the Thames in 2005 and it was painted in dazzle," Worley said.
"The Blue Oyster is an odd-shaped space. It's easy to get disoriented there and I thought it would be interesting to accentuate that."
Worley built a scale model of the Blue Oyster to create his dazzle patterning.
He then spent 45 hours applying it to the interior gallery walls.
The application of dazzle was as unconventional as its introduction, and painters, sculptors, abstract artists and set designers were employed to design the patterning.
"It disappeared when radar came in and then everything went grey again," Mr Worley said.
The British Admiralty later concluded the camouflage had little effect on deterring shipping attacks, but did help boost crew morale.
Dazzle camouflage is still used today.
In Austria, speed traps are often camouflaged with dazzle to confuse drivers about the direction the radar is pointing.
"Bewildering Scheme" is on at the Blue Oyster until September 4.
