Seán Hillen

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Seán Hillen is an artist from Ireland. He was born in 1961 and raised in Newry, County Down, Ireland. Hillen studied at the Belfast College of Art. In 1982, he traveled to London to continue his studies at the London College of Printing, and then at the Slade School of Fine Art.

1 Early Work
2 "Irelantis"
3 Other Works
4 Reference
5 Further reading
6 External links
7 Video

[edit] Early Work

Hillen traveled back and forth between Ireland and England over the course of these years. He photographed scenes related to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Hillen later incorporated these photographs into photomontage work. Eventually, he began to take photographs with the photomontages as his priority.

Many of these photomontages have lengthy, comical titles such as “Sr. Faustina Appears In LondonNewry, Miraculously Preventing The Illegal Photography Of Members Of The Security Forces...” His works on Northern Ireland were published, appearing on the covers of 'Creative Camera’ (photo of cover found here: [1]) and the 'Royal Photographic Journal’ Taking photos of the 'Security Forces' was, and is technically illegal. Hillen often pretended to be part of the press or “just' an innocent art student”

[edit] "Irelantis"

In 1993, Sean Hillen returned to Ireland. Between 1994 and 1997, he created a new body of work entitled ‘Irelantis’. The ‘Irelantis’ series is a collection of scalpel-and-glue collages. They are a bizarre hybrid of the everyday postcard visuals, mixed with this fantastical other world. Most of these highly decorative collages, showing landmarks from around Ireland, are no bigger than a postcard. All of his work is done by hand and he would sometimes use a microscope as he worked.

These works are partly influenced by the famous picture postcards of John Hinde. Hillen adapts these nostalgic images, juxtaposing the familiar touristic shots to create an altogether different and complex image.

The ‘Irelantis’ series celebrates the imagery of Ireland. He illustrates places like Newgrange, The Cliffs of Moher, Trinity College and O Connell St.

Apart from John Hinde, Hillen has been influenced by many other artists including the great photomontage artist John Heartfield. This is especially true in his more political montages of the ‘Troubles” in Northern Ireland.

[edit] Other Works

Apart from collage, Hillen has worked though many other mediums. He has done sculptural works, video, illustration, performance work, stage and graphic design. He also been a visiting-lecturer in Art schools and elsewhere. Hillen has been involved in many projects over the last few years. He has begun another photo series called the ‘Untitled broken umbrella project'. This project consists of around 250 photos of broken umbrellas around Dublin and is ongoing.

Ultimately, Hillen’s work is one of pure visual excitement and expression, full of wonder and mysticism. Hillen now lives and works in Dublin.