Shane Hynan‘s practice centres on photography, incorporating experimental elements in sound, video, collage, and sculpture. His work explores place, land, and architecture, drawing on conceptual, performative, and subjective documentary approaches.
Beneath | Beofhód (2017-2026)
‘Beofhód’, an Irish word meaning ‘life beneath the sod’, evokes the primal and totemic significance of bogs in Celtic tradition. This metaphorical exploration of pre-Christian reverence for elemental energies is grounded in Hynan’s commitment to exploring evolving conversations around environmental justice, and our shifting relationship to these unique landscapes.
Drawing on Hynan’s authentic connection with his local community and region, the work traces the remnants of industrial peat harvesting, which brought substantial economic benefits and helped forge a strong sense of cultural identity and purpose in the area. Since the de-industrialisation of the boglands, large-scale commercial peat extraction has ceased. Tensions have emerged between the tradition of small-scale harvesting for domestic use and the need to protect remaining peatlands.
Through these immediate concerns, Hynan reflects on the endangered status of bog habitats and the evolving perception and value of peatlands in contemporary Ireland through postcolonial and late-capitalist social lenses. Bogs in the Irish midlands have undergone significant alteration and a move towards ecologically aware practices, with the construction of new renewable wind and solar farms, which bring their own questions and challenges.
Beneath | Beofhód is a timely and in-depth engagement with urgent issues of landscape, tradition, and community. At a moment of ongoing challenges around the environment and sustainability, restoring our ancient connections to the land seems more vital than ever. Hynan’s long-term focus on Irish boglands creates a profound sense of respect for the complexity of these landscapes in continuous flux, layered with history.
Façadier (2024-present)
This is a new body of work initially developed while on residency at Centre Culturel Irlandais (Paris) in November 2024. My intention is to make new work exploring the overlap of my previous structural engineering background, my photographic practice and my experience of urban spaces.
As an engineer I designed many buildings and have an innate understanding of the structures and forces within them. This gives me a very specific skillset and an eye for detail that enhances my photographic inquiry and opportunities for metaphorical exploration of the built environment, and the tangible and intangible elements that constitute it.
While making the initial work in Paris it felt simultaneously personal and political. A loose concept relating to a façade began to interest me; visually, metaphorically and symbolically. My initial work is primarily photographic complimented with sound, text, drawing and scans of found objects. This work is in the early developmental stage and a work in progress. I’ve adopted the working title ‘Façadier’ which is a French word translating as facade maker.
Going forward the work will investigate and respond to the visible and unseen systems and structures we live within using the built environment as a vehicle to explore this. The core concept, narrative and subtext for this new work need to be refined and will evolve based on my future encounters with urban landscapes.
Going forward I intend to make work in Dublin and hopefully undertake a residency in another European urban centre in 2027 to develop and refine the work further.
Earth Photo 2025 Residencies
As part of the Earth Photo Awards 2025, I undertook two residencies at the Sidney Nolan Trust (UK) and Burren College of Art (County Clare, Ireland). While on residency at the Sidney Nolan Trust I learnt that Nolan’s ancestral Irish home was actually the site of the Burren College of Art.
During my time on both residencies I became intrigued by the elemental nature of the landscape, the everchanging weather and the quality of the light. It rained a lot in both places and water seemed to be ever present and significant in forming and shaping the landscape. I visited the Elan Valley in Wales, and the series of Victorian dams built there, and saw the large volumes of water and the powerful flow across the dams. I also explored the karst limestone landscape of the Burren and found sanctuary and peace in its wilder areas.
In many ways I used these residencies as an opportunity to experiment and return to first principles in terms of subject matter and photography. I made some pictures using homemade pinhole cameras with an exposure time equal to the duration of the residency.
Wexford Coastal Studies
This is a new series I started in January 2024 while staying in Wexford for a month. I photographed the Wexford coastline which is experiencing significant erosion and coastal issues. It was interesting to be photographing an area that draws significant tourism in the Summer months and to capture the experience of this place during quieter times. This is a work in progress and something I hope to return to when time allows.
