Artist, born in 1961 in Newry, N.Ireland., Hillen lives and works in Dublin. He studied at Belfast College of Art, London College of Printing and the Slade School of Fine Art.

A ‘traditional’ collagist whose work has both popular and intellectual appeal, Hillen is recognised as one of the most significant Irish artists of his generation and a master of photomontage. He first gained notice in the U.K. for his early works based on his own photos from the Northern Irish 'troubles', (which have themselves recently been acquired as a permanent collection for the Irish National Library; Photographic Archive and published as ‘Melancholy Witness’ by The History Press in Ireland and in 2014 in the U.S.. Now republished as paperback in 2017.

The resulting photomontages since have become quite widely-known and are studied as examples of the medium.

(e.g. uk-india.britishcouncil.in/explore/belfast-city-tour/hist... )

In the 1990’s he moved to Dublin and began a new series titled ‘IRELANTIS’, which have come to be described as “the most vivid and emblematic expression of the dreams and anxieties of ‘Celtic Tiger’ Ireland”- and have themselves become part of the cultural landscape, for instance featuring on the covers of over 35 books, magazines and journals, and themselves the subject of academic study.

He has also executed commissions and collaborations including video for Sony Music/Super Furry Animals; stage design, advertisements, title graphics and permanent sculptures for Citi Group and Dublin City Council.

He won the international design competition, with landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald, for the Omagh Bomb Memorial unveiled in August 2008.

His work is in many private and public collections including the Irish State Collection, Permanent Collection of the Imperial War Museum (works on permanent exhibition), Newry & Mourne Museum, Wolverhampton Museum, Allied Irish Bank, the European Central Bank, The Irish Central Bank, Citigroup SA, Aspen Re. (through the Contemporary Art Society), the BBC and Microsoft Ltd.

He has won several awards and prizes including a major bursary from the Irish Arts Council in 2015.

In 2017 The Golden Thread Gallery showed the first full-scale Seán Hillen retrospective; ‘100 WORKS’ a 35-year ‘review’ show.

His work can be seen at www.seanhillen.com and at www.irelantis.com