WATERFORD

STREET ART 2017

VISIT THE OCTOBER 2025 DIARY EXAMPLES OF STREET ART TOP MENU THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER HOME PAGE

PHOTOGRAPHED 2017

BY ADOR AND SHUK

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS LAYER TWO BY ADOR AND SHUK

Layer Two: The Ephemeral Collaboration of 2017

My photographs from 2017 provide a valuable and detailed visual record of the wall's second artistic iteration. A close examination of these images reveals a collaboration between two distinct styles. The right side of the wall features a large, surrealist portrait of a woman with a melancholic expression, her hair intertwined with foliage, and a large, disembodied hand gesturing beside her. The left side, by contrast, is a photorealistic portrait of a woman in stark blue tones, her hair styled in an intricate coiffure, with a single white rose adorning it.

Based on an analysis of information from the time, the artists can be identified as ADOR and SHUK. A blog post from September 2017, documenting the Waterford Walls Festival, mentions both artists' presence and their respective origins: ADOR from France and SHUK from Ireland. The work, while appearing as an ad-hoc collaboration between friends, was an official part of the 2017 Waterford Walls Festival, a structured event that meticulously plans and organises its art installations.

A compelling aspect of this mural's story is that it was reportedly never signed due to rain damage. This is powerfully corroborated by multiple sources from the time. Blog posts from the 2017 festival repeatedly lament the "horrible weather" and "torrential rains" that plagued the event. This weather presented significant challenges, particularly for artists from "dry countries", causing paint to drip and leaving many large-scale works "unfinished". An artist may not wish to claim a piece they consider incomplete or compromised by external factors.

This instance highlights the inherently temporary nature of street art, a theme reiterated by a festival attendee who noted that such works "won't live long" and that some were already gone due to building sales or repainting. Photographic documentation, therefore, is not merely a collection of pictures but a crucial record of a transient cultural moment. It provides a permanent archive of an artwork that was not meant to last, preserving its existence in a way that the physical form could not.

 

STREET ART 2025 STREET ART 2021 STREET ART 2019