THIS WAS NOT EASY TO PHOTOGRAPH
The Quays by Dan Kitchener – Rose Lane, Waterford
This was difficult to photograph because of traffic and the cherry picker blocking my view and I visited the area about five times and used a Leica Q3 and a Sony A7RVI with three different lenses and as soon as I got a clear view my last battery was exhausted.
A casual query to a passer-by about the subject of this vibrant mural quickly turned into a prolonged, hour-long monologue on the trials of modern life and the perceived shortcomings of public art. Yet, the scene on the wall could hardly be more recognisable: it is a striking, rain-slicked study of Waterford's own Quays at dusk, illuminated in a blaze of amber, neon, and ruby light looking along the river corridor towards the iconic Thomas Francis Meagher Bridge spanning the Suir.
Rose Lane & Its Historic Setting
Rose Lane sits within the historic core of Waterford, threading back from the broad sweep of the North Wharf and the city's ancient quays. For centuries, the quayside formed the beating heart of Waterford's maritime trade, receiving ships laden with wine, timber, provisions, and dry goods. The narrow laneways flanking the waterfront, like Rose Lane, served as vital arteries connecting merchant storehouses, domestic tenements, and trade yards to the riverbank. Today, these historic passages provide an atmospheric canvas where ancient stone footprints meet dynamic, large-scale contemporary street art.
The Artist: Dan Kitchener (DANK)
Dan Kitchener—often signing simply as DANK—is a renowned British urban artist, illustrator, and painter whose distinct visual language is celebrated across the globe. Known internationally for his cinematic "liquid lights" and Tokyo-inspired rainy nightscapes, Kitchener blends impressionistic brushwork with precise spray techniques. His works capture the kinetic energy of urban transit, masterfully rendering light diffusions through raindrops, reflections on wet asphalt, and the warm glow of vehicle tail-lights and illuminated shopfronts.
Connection to Waterford Walls
Kitchener has been a cherished, recurring contributor to the Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival. Over multiple editions of the festival, his monumental murals have transformed plain gable walls across the city into cinematic visual journeys. While celebrated worldwide for his neon-drenched East Asian metropolitan scenes, his pieces for Waterford often pay direct homage to the host city itself—capturing local urban landscapes and familiar quayside vistas through his signature, atmospheric lens.
1. Neon Waves (2018)
Location: Vulcan Street (just off O'Connell Street, Waterford
Description: Measuring approximately 35 ft × 20 ft, this monumental piece captures a low-angle, street-level perspective of a rain-drenched crossing in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It depicts vibrant neon reflections rippling across wet tarmac as a pedestrian glances back towards the viewer.
2. Butterflies / Tokyo Street Scene (2023)
Location: Fitzwilton Hotel, Bridge Street, Waterford
Description: Painted on the exterior gable wall of the hotel, this piece showcases Kitchener’s signature "liquid light" style. The composition features glowing traffic headlamps, figures walking with transparent umbrellas, and layered reflections along a bustling urban thoroughfare.
3. The Quays (2026)
Location: Rose Lane, Waterford
Description: Departing from his usual East Asian metropolises, this mural directly depicts Waterford's own quayside at dusk. The scene captures evening commuter traffic, wet pavements reflecting shopfront neon, and the Thomas Francis Meagher Bridge silhouetted against a vivid sunset sky.
Vulcan Street
Location: Vulcan Street (just off O'Connell Street, Waterford
Description: Measuring approximately 35 ft × 20 ft, this monumental piece captures a low-angle, street-level perspective of a rain-drenched crossing in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It depicts vibrant neon reflections rippling across wet tarmac as a pedestrian glances back towards the viewer.
2. Butterflies / Tokyo Street Scene (2023)
There is a much repeated story that the artist had difficulty completing because of constant rain
The story likely conflates two distinct elements: the notorious weather during the 2018 festival and the backstory of the scene depicted in the mural itself.
Festival Weather in 2018: The 2018 edition of Waterford Walls was plagued by persistent, heavy rain almost every day. Several visiting international artists faced severe disruptions and struggled with wet render and dripping paint, forcing artists and organisers to battle the conditions throughout the event.
The Mural's Three-Day Window: Kitchener spent three dedicated days executing the 35 ft × 20 ft wall. While local weather during the festival week caused havoc across many sites, he was able to take advantage of dry breaks to pack in a remarkably dense level of fine spray detail compared to his rapid single-day pieces.
The Origin of the "Laying in the Rain" Story: The primary anecdote associated with Neon Waves comes from the original photograph Kitchener used for the composition. He spent over a year searching for the right wall to recreate a specific memory from Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he lay directly in a flooded street puddle during a downpour to capture neon light reflecting in the gutter while a passer-by under an umbrella looked down at him.
The persistent downpours during the 2018 festival—paired with Kitchener’s own well-publicised story of lying in the pouring rain in Tokyo to capture the source image—frequently merge into local lore that he battled constant washouts on Vulcan Street.
This was difficult to photograph because of traffic and the cherry picker blocking my view and I visited the area about five times and used a Leica Q3 and a Sony A7RVI with three different lenses and as soon as I got a clear view my last battery was exhausted.
A casual query to a passer-by about the subject of this vibrant mural quickly turned into a prolonged, hour-long monologue on the trials of modern life and the perceived shortcomings of public art. Yet, the scene on the wall could hardly be more recognisable: it is a striking, rain-slicked study of Waterford's own Quays at dusk, illuminated in a blaze of amber, neon, and ruby light looking along the river corridor towards the iconic Thomas Francis Meagher Bridge spanning the Suir.
Rose Lane & Its Historic Setting
Rose Lane sits within the historic core of Waterford, threading back from the broad sweep of the North Wharf and the city's ancient quays. For centuries, the quayside formed the beating heart of Waterford's maritime trade, receiving ships laden with wine, timber, provisions, and dry goods. The narrow laneways flanking the waterfront, like Rose Lane, served as vital arteries connecting merchant storehouses, domestic tenements, and trade yards to the riverbank. Today, these historic passages provide an atmospheric canvas where ancient stone footprints meet dynamic, large-scale contemporary street art.
The Artist: Dan Kitchener (DANK)
Dan Kitchener—often signing simply as DANK—is a renowned British urban artist, illustrator, and painter whose distinct visual language is celebrated across the globe. Known internationally for his cinematic "liquid lights" and Tokyo-inspired rainy nightscapes, Kitchener blends impressionistic brushwork with precise spray techniques. His works capture the kinetic energy of urban transit, masterfully rendering light diffusions through raindrops, reflections on wet asphalt, and the warm glow of vehicle tail-lights and illuminated shopfronts.
Connection to Waterford Walls
Kitchener has been a cherished, recurring contributor to the Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival. Over multiple editions of the festival, his monumental murals have transformed plain gable walls across the city into cinematic visual journeys. While celebrated worldwide for his neon-drenched East Asian metropolitan scenes, his pieces for Waterford often pay direct homage to the host city itself—capturing local urban landscapes and familiar quayside vistas through his signature, atmospheric lens.
1. Neon Waves (2018)
Location: Vulcan Street (just off O'Connell Street, Waterford
Description: Measuring approximately 35 ft × 20 ft, this monumental piece captures a low-angle, street-level perspective of a rain-drenched crossing in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It depicts vibrant neon reflections rippling across wet tarmac as a pedestrian glances back towards the viewer.
2. Butterflies / Tokyo Street Scene (2023)
Location: Fitzwilton Hotel, Bridge Street, Waterford
Description: Painted on the exterior gable wall of the hotel, this piece showcases Kitchener’s signature "liquid light" style. The composition features glowing traffic headlamps, figures walking with transparent umbrellas, and layered reflections along a bustling urban thoroughfare.
3. The Quays (2026)
Location: Rose Lane, Waterford
Description: Departing from his usual East Asian metropolises, this mural directly depicts Waterford's own quayside at dusk. The scene captures evening commuter traffic, wet pavements reflecting shopfront neon, and the Thomas Francis Meagher Bridge silhouetted against a vivid sunset sky.
Vulcan Street
Location: Vulcan Street (just off O'Connell Street, Waterford
Description: Measuring approximately 35 ft × 20 ft, this monumental piece captures a low-angle, street-level perspective of a rain-drenched crossing in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It depicts vibrant neon reflections rippling across wet tarmac as a pedestrian glances back towards the viewer.
2. Butterflies / Tokyo Street Scene (2023)
There is a much repeated story that the artist had difficulty completing because of constant rain
The story likely conflates two distinct elements: the notorious weather during the 2018 festival and the backstory of the scene depicted in the mural itself.
Festival Weather in 2018: The 2018 edition of Waterford Walls was plagued by persistent, heavy rain almost every day. Several visiting international artists faced severe disruptions and struggled with wet render and dripping paint, forcing artists and organisers to battle the conditions throughout the event.
The Mural's Three-Day Window: Kitchener spent three dedicated days executing the 35 ft × 20 ft wall. While local weather during the festival week caused havoc across many sites, he was able to take advantage of dry breaks to pack in a remarkably dense level of fine spray detail compared to his rapid single-day pieces.
The Origin of the "Laying in the Rain" Story: The primary anecdote associated with Neon Waves comes from the original photograph Kitchener used for the composition. He spent over a year searching for the right wall to recreate a specific memory from Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he lay directly in a flooded street puddle during a downpour to capture neon light reflecting in the gutter while a passer-by under an umbrella looked down at him.
The persistent downpours during the 2018 festival—paired with Kitchener’s own well-publicised story of lying in the pouring rain in Tokyo to capture the source image—frequently merge into local lore that he battled constant washouts on Vulcan Street.
AboutTheQuaysMural