But by night, Bruce Mahalski’s latest mural really comes to light.
Created with ultraviolet light-reactive paint, the Dunedin artist’s mural on the northwestern wall of the Victoria Hotel glows after dark, making it the first outdoor mural of its kind in New Zealand.
"The mural shows nocturnal animals out in the evening," he said.
"It has moreporks, moths, a weta and there’s a Dactylanthus flower, which is like a wood rose which only flowers at night.
"In the background is the Otago Peninsula.
"But at night, when the UV lights come on, those images light up — the moon and the sky, the stars, the Milky Way, there’s dew on the plants — it comes to life."
The project was more than three years in the planning, and there was hope it would soon become an attraction for nighttime Instagrammers.
The paint had to be imported from the United Kingdom, and was made to glow with a set of ultraviolet lights.
Mr Mahalski said the paint had been difficult to work with because it was not easy to see its effect on the mural while he was working on it during the day.
"It was hard. I’d paint it, and then come back at night when the lights were on and take photographs of it.
"It was a matter of perfecting it over a few days."
He said he got inspiration for the mural from a London street artist who used the same paint.
The mural was commissioned by Dodd Walls Centre chief executive David Hutchinson in collaboration with Otago Museum. It was unveiled at a ceremony last night.
