IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
Echoes in the Dark: Capturing ADW’s ‘Deep Love’ in a Belfast Storm
Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter is home to some of the most vibrant street art in Europe. Walk down Dunbar Street on any given afternoon, and you’ll likely see a huddle of people with smartphones aimed at one particular brick wall. They are there for Deep Love, the iconic mural by renowned Dublin-based stencil artist ADW.
Created for the Hit the North festival back in 2017, the piece depicts a vintage deep-sea diver cradling a mermaid against a glowing yellow moon. In the daylight, it’s a pop of romantic colour against the industrial grit of the city. But I wanted to see if I could find a different soul within the stencil.
Shooting Without the Light
We’ve all seen the high-definition, perfectly lit daytime shots of ADW’s work. To capture something unique, I decided to visit the mural in the dead of night, right in the middle of a storm.
I chose to work entirely with available light. There were no flashes, no softboxes, and no artificial enhancements—just the ambient glow of distant streetlamps and the moody, reflective sheen of rain-soaked tarmac.
A Different Perspective on 'Deep Love'
The storm added a layer of texture that you simply can't find on a dry day. In these photographs, the vibrant yellow moon seems to fight against the surrounding gloom, and the blue hues of the mermaid’s tail take on a ghostly, ethereal quality.
The wet pavement in the foreground acts like a dark mirror, pulling the mural’s colours down into the street. By stripping away the clarity of daylight, the "Deep Love" theme feels less like a postcard and more like a scene from a forgotten noir film. It turns a public landmark into a private, cinematic moment.
ADW is a regular fixture at Hit the North, and his work defines much of the Cathedral Quarter’s aesthetic. However, seeing his work through the lens of a midnight storm reminds us that street art isn't static—it lives, breathes, and changes with the Irish weather.
Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter is home to some of the most vibrant street art in Europe. Walk down Dunbar Street on any given afternoon, and you’ll likely see a huddle of people with smartphones aimed at one particular brick wall. They are there for Deep Love, the iconic mural by renowned Dublin-based stencil artist ADW.
Created for the Hit the North festival back in 2017, the piece depicts a vintage deep-sea diver cradling a mermaid against a glowing yellow moon. In the daylight, it’s a pop of romantic colour against the industrial grit of the city. But I wanted to see if I could find a different soul within the stencil.
Shooting Without the Light
We’ve all seen the high-definition, perfectly lit daytime shots of ADW’s work. To capture something unique, I decided to visit the mural in the dead of night, right in the middle of a storm.
I chose to work entirely with available light. There were no flashes, no softboxes, and no artificial enhancements—just the ambient glow of distant streetlamps and the moody, reflective sheen of rain-soaked tarmac.
A Different Perspective on 'Deep Love'
The storm added a layer of texture that you simply can't find on a dry day. In these photographs, the vibrant yellow moon seems to fight against the surrounding gloom, and the blue hues of the mermaid’s tail take on a ghostly, ethereal quality.
The wet pavement in the foreground acts like a dark mirror, pulling the mural’s colours down into the street. By stripping away the clarity of daylight, the "Deep Love" theme feels less like a postcard and more like a scene from a forgotten noir film. It turns a public landmark into a private, cinematic moment.
ADW is a regular fixture at Hit the North, and his work defines much of the Cathedral Quarter’s aesthetic. However, seeing his work through the lens of a midnight storm reminds us that street art isn't static—it lives, breathes, and changes with the Irish weather.
MURAL ON DUNBAR STREET