Shane Hynan
Shane Hynan (b. 1976) is a visual artist whose practice centres on photography, incorporating experimental elements in sound, video, collage, and sculpture. He holds an MFA in Photography from Ulster University (2019). His work explores place, land, and architecture, drawing on conceptual, performative, and subjective documentary approaches.
Hynan has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. He has received multiple awards from the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland and Kildare Arts.
In 2025 he was shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize (National Gallery of Ireland) and selected for the FUTURES Photography platform. He also won the Sidney Nolan Trust Residency and PhotoWorks Digital Residency Awards at the Earth Photo 2025 at the Royal Geographical Society, London. In 2024 he undertook residencies at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and at Roscommon Arts Centre, and was awarded a Visual Arts Bursary and a Project Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.
His ongoing project, Beneath Beofhód (2018–present), investigates the cultural and ecological significance of the Irish midlands’ boglands, particularly in relation to shifting perceptions, uses, and values of peatlands. Selected works were shown recently in the RHA ‘BogSkin’ exhibition and the complete body of work will premiere at Photo Museum Ireland (Dublin) in May 2026.
He is also a member of the Tóch | Dig collective, a phased, collaborative initiative with artists Sheena Malone and Pamela de Brí. The project engages communities of place and interest connected to bogs in County Kildare, addressing the impact of climate change on these communities across time. This work was born out of the overlooked and unheard voices he encountered while making his ‘Beneath | Beofhód’ project.
‘Beneath Beofhód’ is series of photographs examining the cultural and environmental dimensions of bogs in the Irish midlands. The term Beofhód, meaning “life beneath the sod” in Irish, evokes the primal and totemic significance of bogs in Celtic tradition. The project considers themes of social and environmental justice, topographical mapping, and pre-Christian reverence for elemental forces within the landscape.
Referencing Joseph Beuys’ assertion that bogs are “the liveliest elements in the European landscape” and “preservers of ancient history,” the work reflects on the endangered status of these habitats in the artist’s post-industrial surroundings. It contemplates the evolving perception and value of peatlands in contemporary Ireland.
The project is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Kildare Arts Service, Roscommon Arts Centre, and the Photo Museum Ireland Artist Development Residency.