Sien Collective is the collaborative work of artists Meagan Shein & Siobhán Arnold. We seek to address the contradiction between looking and seeing – how we mis-see and unsee the world(s) around us. Our work mines mythology, archetypes, history, and fairy tale, employing the imagery of the natural and human world interchangeably. We articulate our position as women in our particular place in society and the physical world/environment. We are interested in challenging the existing narratives of dominance and submission raising possibilities for alternative narratives, ones in which the silenced may speak for themselves and have agency in their own lives. These new narratives may be autobiographical or fictional. Our collaboration blurs lines both conceptually and through the art making process.  By transforming  hand drawn paper negatives into cyanotype, and combining discarded plastic, sewing, drawing, painting and photography into collaged works, we are creating a hybrid visual language, one that opens new ways of thinking and seeing.  

Siobhán Arnold is a multimedia artist who works with photography, textiles, sculpture and installation.  She received an MFA in Art Studio from University of California, Santa Barbara and a BA with honors from the University of Chicago.  Hailing from both Oregon and Wisconsin, Siobhán currently teaches at California State University, San Marcos and resides in San Diego with her family.

Meagan Shein is an artist who draws with pen and ink on paper and plastic painted with encaustic as well as sculpture and installation.  She received her MFA in Painting from Hunter College, MA in art history from Williams College, and BA with special honors from the University of Chicago.  She lives in Ann Arbor, MI with her two children.

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