Gillian Hyland
London, UK
Gillian Hyland is an image maker; she personally composes every aspect of her pictures. Originally from Ireland, Gillian’s career began in publishing, where she worked as a fashion stylist and features writer for a number of well-known national magazines. This led to a move into the television industry, and later into the film industry, where she worked in a variety of roles, including stylist, set designer, and art director.
Since 2007 Gillian has been living in London. This period has seen her create imagery for fashion shoots, commercials and advertising campaigns for a range of high-profile international clients and brands. This diverse background helped her develop a passion for making images, which evolved into her own distinctive photographic style. Gillian first released ‘Words in Sight’ in 2014; since then her photographs have been exhibited around the world and received several awards.
Artist Statement
‘Words in Sight’ is a narrative photography series which has been inspired by poems I’ve written over the past decade. The poems captured my life and emotions in words; I think of the photographs as an interpretation, or a reimagining, of those words, which offer a new perspective on past events. I create fictional environments, imaginative and theatrical in which I emphasise the characters emotional state by playing with colours, textures, and aesthetic settings in order to produce an evocative atmosphere.
The aim of the photographs in ‘Words in Sight’ is not only to explore my own past experiences, and my sense of self, but to tell a story. The images suggest a larger narrative within a single incident; they also attempt to tap into a universal understanding of emotion and experience.
It’s not about creating a pretty picture, for me it’s the intention that lies beneath it that is truly worthwhile. I’m drawn to the thinking mind behind the face, the subjects eyes holding a story in their gaze, that is what I aim to capture through my photographs.
- Advertising
- Arts
- Environment
- Interior
- Portrait
