Melancholy Witness

Overview

Putting human faces on the conflict in Northern Ireland, a stunning collection of documentary  photography from from the 1980s through early 1990sMelancholy Witness is the published collection of the images of Sean Hillen's lauded exhibition of photography, documenting the years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Combining personality with documentary history, what emerges is a powerful and compelling story of unrest, beauty, and change.

Reviews

"The photographs are like black and white time machines that bring back the desolation and danger of the Troubles. The images have a documentary accuracy, but it is the aura of melancholy witness that marks them as the work of Seán Hillen." —Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize recipient

"Striking, haunting sometimes bleakly beautiful: a record of historical importance but also much more." —Roy Foster, author, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland

Author Biography

Sean Hillen is a professional photographer. His images of the Troubles have appeared on the cover of Creative Camera and the Royal Photographic Journal, and in 2007 he was commissioned to design the Omagh Bomb Memorial.