Gillian Hyland

Growing up in Ireland meant that storytelling is part of my heritage, stories help people see life through the eyes of others. Whether the tale is set in the modern day or centuries ago, the common emotional threads remain the same and will still be relevant tomorrow. By challenging our perceptions, it enables us to gain new insight and experience life in a different way, giving us a richer understanding of ourselves and the people around us.

The photographs are part of an ongoing project ‘Words in Sight’, which is a narrative photography series that has been inspired by poetry I’ve written over the past decade. The poems portray the raw feelings from personal experiences. Each poem encapsulate my memories and emotions in words; they have since been transformed into images, which offer a new perspective on past events.

I create fictional environments, imaginative and theatrical in which I emphasise characters feelings by playing with colours, symbols, texture and aesthetic settings, in order to produce an evocative atmosphere. The resulting images are not a literal description of a memory but an ambiance, enabling the emotional core and mood to shine through. The imagery plays with our notions of nostalgia, and taps into society’s cultural understanding of feelings and beliefs. The composition of each image suggests a larger narrative within a single moment. The photograph explores my sense of self and society and aims to engage and trigger an emotional response from the viewer.

All photographs available in the following sizes and editions –

153 x 102cm / 60″ x 40″ edition of 6

114 x 76cm / 45″ x 30″ edition of 9

75 x 50cm / 30″ x 20″ edition of 9

30 x 20cm / 12″ x 8″ edition of 15

Aluminium Mounting has many advantages, notably its extremely smooth surface. Ideal for all image types including high gloss such as Fujiflex paper. It has a clean, silver edge. Hanging systems can be attached to the back, to ‘float’ away from the wall. Aluminium is predominantly used in cold mounting but when dealing with large fibre based / hand prints, hot mounting is a very effective way of getting them flat.

Diasec is the original method of face-mounting prints, such as photographs on acrylic sheet. A Diasec mount is usually of a high gloss finish. Because the print is glued to the acrylic glazing, the result is a completely flat mount of the image. Dibond – The panel combines two 0.3 mm aluminium surface layers with a polyethylene core and comes with a protective film on both sides. The light-weight and rigid composite material is ideal for large signage applications, display and exhibition, digital & screen printing, photo mounting, interior design.