Graffiti in Belgium
June 2026
While on a trip to Brussels, I was made curious by the unusually high amounts of graffiti in the city. Being from the city myself, I am no stranger to graffiti, but likely as a result of Belgium’s unique architecture (at least in the ways that it is distinct from Irish architecture) I noticed that a lot of the graffiti would be very closely clumped together and would sometimes move vertically up the wall. This is on the outside walls of prominent and open businesses.
Fun designs, interesting faces, even modern day declarations of revolution and cries for peace in the middle east were texturing my experience in Brussels and I wanted to make sure I could capture the environments of the city with this new-school graphical context.
While on a trip to Brussels, I was made curious by the unusually high amounts of graffiti in the city. Being from the city myself, I am no stranger to graffiti, but likely as a result of Belgium’s unique architecture (at least in the ways that it is distinct from Irish architecture) I noticed that a lot of the graffiti would be very closely clumped together and would sometimes move vertically up the wall. This is on the outside walls of prominent and open businesses.
Fun designs, interesting faces, even modern day declarations of revolution and cries for peace in the middle east were texturing my experience in Brussels and I wanted to make sure I could capture the environments of the city with this new-school graphical context.
I first sought out interesting features and happenings in Brussels, relying on surrealist and Dutch angles to capture an unsanitised vibe. I intended to target something new-school, so my raw photos were taken with blown out saturation and messy graffiti overlays in mind.
The Process
I first sought out interesting features and happenings in Brussels, relying on surrealist and Dutch angles to capture an unsanitised vibe. I intended to target something new-school, so my raw photos were taken with blown out saturation and messy graffiti overlays in mind.
As for the graffiti, I captured as much of it as I could find in photos and returned to my edit suite to make rough masks of all the art, so that I could overlay it onto the photos.
As for the graffiti, I captured as much of it as I could find in photos and returned to my edit suite to make rough masks of all the art, so that I could overlay it onto the photos.
I then added a subtle halftone to the images. It captured a comic book aesthetic that I believe suited the graffiti well, without overpowering the image. I then pasted the graffiti on top of what I felt were the appropriate images.
I then added a subtle halftone to the images. It captured a comic book aesthetic that I believe suited the graffiti well, without overpowering the image. I then pasted the graffiti on top of what I felt were the appropriate images.
