ExposingWhat'sBeneath

A journey below the Las Vegas strip into an overlooked art scene

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Artist statementBIOGRAPHYDany Haniff is a photographer and graphic designer from Las Vegas who enjoys capturing

the “urban” aspects of his subjects. He focuses on destructive, edgy textures mixed with

photo effects to create his stylized photos. He especially enjoys portraits, mixing limited

studio lighting with natural lighting on location to capture the essence of people’s

emotions and their surroundings. Often he combines his knowledge of graphic design

and photography together to adjust colors, resulting in somewhat surreal images. Dany

is very passionate about photography and initially wanted to learn it because he wanted

to use his own materials when creating graphic design collateral.

PROJECT“Exposing What’s Beneath” documents a very different side of Las Vegas rarely seen. So

rare that only few locals know about it. Dany Haniff went beyond capturing the typical

entertainment aspect of what puts the city on the map, rather finding possibly the best

graffiti (not) seen in Las Vegas buried far beneath the Strip in storm drains miles long.

Armed with flashlights and a camera, his journey led to an unforgettable adventure that

would bring light to art hidden in the darkness. Overall, the lessons learned from this

journey is continue to do what you love even if it is overlooked. Do it for the passion, not

the fame.

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Right beneath the Las Vegas Strip lies an art gallery that remains unknown.

Site beneath the Strip

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Six storm drain entrances are different paths leading to the same experience.

Storm Drains

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A preview of the journey below the Strip on a tagged rock.

Strip bombing

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Daylight acts as the only light source upon entering a storm drain.

Entrance into Darkness

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Further down the tunnel lies another area lit by a grate above.

Mile-long gallery

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A wide grate shines a pattern of light below, reminiscent of a ladder leading to the

street above.

Early Exit

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The art continues to improve as the floor get dirtier.

Division between Art and Trash

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Nothing is off limits, attention to detail is also given to the individual bars of the grate above.

No holds barred

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The tunnel finally opens up into an area wider than the “hallway.”

In the Shadows

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Around the corner opens up a whole new area worth exploring, far away from the public eye.

An Artists' Paradise

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The ladder symbolizes the artwork itself, trapped with nowhere to go. Artwork

completely covers the walls lit up by the single, yet biggest grate above.

Ladder to Nowhere

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The other side separates into larger openings as opposed to the original, narrow six entrances.

Hidden Art

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Spray paint cans left behind by previous artists are seen on the floor.

Evidence Left behind

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Muddy water creates a natural barrier between the viewer and the artwork.

Bright colors in a dark environment

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The smell of sewage adds another element to overcome within the storm drains,

besides the lack of light.

Muddy Reflections

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A close-up of the dividers of the grate above are tagged as well as the walls surrounding it. This

particular grate also acts as a light source in an otherwise pitch black environment.

Grate Expectations

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My shadow appears on the ceiling as flashlights shine from behind.

Accompanied by my own Shadow

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Down the tunnel, water drips loudly echo in a open area of tagged pillars, adding to the

other mysterious sounds heard from a distance.

Not just paint drips

Photography by dany haniff