Cinematic photography series by Gillian Hyland captures a decade of travel

Several times award-winning, Hyland's mesmerising and supernatural staged images are presented as film stills or dramatic moments from around the world. The unsettling mise-en-scène is full of sex and desire, sadness and nostalgia. Narratives that are psychologically evocative – at once sublimely theatrical yet poignant.

Frozen in time, solitary and vulnerable moments are presented in glorious technicolour and timeless sets. Hyland describes herself as an image maker and storyteller. Her dramatic photographs are based on her own poems and depict characters in human dramas and isolated emotional situations.

In 2016, the artist travelled to Cuba for a series of images that have proven amongst her most popular. Her work The Road Less Travelled won the Sony Portrait Prize for Ireland.

"Cuba is so evocative, it is like being in the 1950s, there is an extraordinary aesthetic there," explained Gillian. "The mix and the diversity of people are very inspiring, my eyes were constantly drawn to everything around me. It is so unpredictable and striking.

"The first few days I devoured the streets totally entranced by the chaotic range of buildings, the varied styles all sitting next to each other, and the faded grandeur of a city once soaked in money and glamour. The vibrancy of the people oozes out of them in every sense, from the way they walk, dance, talk and laugh, they enjoy life and live in the moment.’"

Selected works from the book will also be on display at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith in a solo show presented by Barbara Stanley from Thursday 28 September until Friday 3 November 2017. Discover more at gillianhyland.com.

Main image: Unforgiven | All images copyright Gillian Hyland