Based in Melbourne, Shannyn's versatile style spans tourism, advertising and portraiture.
Before taking up a career behind the lens, Shannyn spent over a decade crewing boats around the world and tour guiding in Europe. After hanging up her sailors' hat and moving to Vancouver, she started pursuing a photography full time.
Her current work reflects her community and Shannyn blends her clean emotive storytelling style with humour and quirky curated portraiture.
Working across Australia and internationally.
say hello - shannyn@shannynhiggins.com / 0475 777 533
Book Release - Sheilas Shakedown
This is a limited edition coffee table book that has been carefully curated to include hundreds of Shannyn Higgins' photographs from her years documenting the Sheilas Shakedown festival. A self-published, hard-cover collectors item. This book was designed to act as a time capsule. Showcasing the "golden-years" of the women and people of diverse genders in Australia's underground motorbike scene.
Copies of this book can be purchased here.
The State Library of Victoria recently purchased 14 portraits from Shannyn's series, Behind The Paint, for their permanent collection.
'From a cultural perspective, their inclusion becomes part of the story of Victoria’s art history, for both photographer and the subjects as artists. I think this is particularly interesting in the context of street art, which by its nature is so ephemeral and transient.
So the state collection provides some permanence to street artists, documenting their impact on public space and the Melbourne street scene, which has a global reputation.' -- Curator Bridie Flynn
Selected side project
Duality is an international project that brings together writers and visual artists to explore their narrative through words, artwork and photography.
This art experiment pairs 25 artists with the anonymous words of 25 writers – removing any trace of context, identity or origin from the writers' words, leaving the artist to interpret and respond blindly. The pairings, words and art are kept secret from all involved and the public until opening night, resulting in a truly unique interactive exhibition experience.
To complement the project, Shannyn photographed and filmed each of the 50 creatives in their workspaces for a candid behind-the-scenes portrait series.
Shannyn is the creator and director of Duality and to date, she has created three exhibitions, three books and photographed 150 artists and writers across Vancouver and Melbourne.
Press, podcast and more on this project can be explore over at www.dualityexperiment.com
Shannyn also photographs weddings - you can check out her portfolio here