biography

Néill has long been a proponent of digital media and the visual arts. During his undergraduate degree in Visual Communincations, at NCAD, he followed a thread of research into Interactive Narrative — this was, at the time, considered to be very unorthodox.

To mixed feelings from some of his graphic design tutors he stuck to his research and for his finals he produced a feature length interactive film and an accompanying thesis on hypernarratives. His work received a special commendation from the Department of Visual Culture. In 2002, a derivative essay entitled “From Narratives to Hypernarratives: Decentering the subject in Digital Film,” was published in Thought Lines, by the NCAD Press.

Shortly after completing his studies he moved to New York where he thought interactive film workshops and video editing at the Downtown Community Television Centre. Here he worked with young adults from the neighbourhood. The work culminated in an interactive video piece at an exhibition, entitled "Apartment," in East Village.

In 2002, Néill was invited to exhibit his interactive film "Diversions" at the Darklight Digital Film Festival, in Dublin. The festival specialises in fringe and experimental filmmaking.

After his period in New York, Néill returned to Dublin where he became art director for one of the biggest and long-standing music promoters in Ireland. In 2005 he quit music promotion and embarked on a world trip for one year. Following his return to Ireland he established a full service design company, Abyss Design, providing graphic and web design solutions to small and medium enterprises.

In late 2007 Néill returned to college to undertake his Masters in Multimedia Systems, at Trinity College, Dublin. Exposure to new and diverse people awoke an interest in responsive environments — bodily and architectural enhancement via electronics and computing. Shared interests with a number of talented people brought him to collaborate on the hugely successful Zen Drawing project. This project was first exhibited in the Science Gallery in September 2008. It received a special commendation from the course professor, the director of the Science Gallery and from the Trinity Foundation.

Since graduating from his Masters with first class honours Néill has been continuing his research with responsive environments. He has been exploring collaborative possibilities with visual and performing artists. In January 2009 he exhibited work at the Project Brand New performance festival in the Project Arts Centre, Dublin. The oeuvre was entitled "Historicity Kybernétès" and was based on the concept of recording, contrasting and contemplating the artists' movement on stage during the performance. In March 2009 he conducted a workshop at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, in association with SmartLab, whereby he used new media technologies to facilitate artistic expression for disabled people in the performing arts. In August 2009 he traveled to Belfast to exhibit the Zen Drawing project at ISEA (International Symposium of Electronic Art). In March 2010 Neill exhibited the biorhythmic performance piece, entitled "Calle O'Reilly", at the Project Brand New festival. In June 2010 he was commissioned for a sculptural installation at Castleknock Educate Together Primary School

Néill continues to use digital media as a creative outlet in the exploration of bodily augmentation, haptic visuality and architecture in the visual and performing arts.