The Painters of Belfast’s No Man’s Land

2018 RUNNER-UP OF THE BODLEY HEAD | FINANCIAL TIMES ESSAY PRIZE

A timely exploration of art on the boundary of Northern Ireland’s fragile peace. Stephen Groves follows a famed Protestant artist and his Catholic accomplice as they paint the walls of Belfast’s no man’s land. Through their lives, we see a glimpse of the deep social issues which plague Northern Ireland today. Epidemics of drugs and suicide – the symptoms of internalised trauma. Is peace simply the absence of violence?