Cillín Perera
Cillín Johann Perera is an Australian technologist, photographer and patron of the arts who is known for his "HomelessCEO" project. Between 2013 and 2017, Perera documented his travels by uploading a photo of every flight and each day on Instagram. The project encompassed more than 1000 images from dozens of countries and hundreds of flights and was the subject of a touring exhibition.
Cillín Perera
- Name
- Cillín Johann Perera
- Birthplace
- London
- Education
- Harvard University
- Known for
- Photography
- Born
- 1977 · London.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- photographer
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Documentary summary
Cillín Johann Perera is an Australian technologist, photographer and patron of the arts who is known for his "HomelessCEO" project. Between 2013 and 2017, Perera documented his travels by uploading a photo of every flight and each day on Instagram. The project encompassed more than 1000 images from dozens of countries and hundreds of flights and was the subject of a touring exhibition.
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wikidata · Q23664022 · wikipedia · Cillín Perera
In this article
Biography
Biography
Perera is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Avilinga, founder of nthspace and a Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute. He is a collector and patron of Australian Aboriginal art.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Cillín Johann Perera • Birthplace — London • Education — Harvard University • Known for — Photography • Notable Works — Homeless CEO • Website — instagram.com/homelessCEO/
Early life
Early life
Perera was born in London to an Irish mother and a Sri Lankan father, and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. In 1995, he went to the United States to study visual arts and cinema under scholarship at Harvard University. As a freshman, he started a non-profit company and a late-night show, Wide Awake with Cillin Perera. In 1997, Perera was assistant director of Joshua Oppenheimer's The Entire History of the Louisiana Purchase, an experimental documentary that won several festival awards.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1977
Cillín Perera was born on 12 March 1977.
Technique
HomelessCEO was shot entirely on Apple iPod and iPhone. Perera's style puts a strong emphasis on composition and perspective, partly as a result of equipment limitations. For flights, Perera frequently shoots the view from the passenger window; the project contains possibly the world's largest collection of "airplane porthole" shots. Perera's other photographs show "haunting images of architecture, landscapes and urban settings mostly devoid of the human form." He very rarely features people in his photos unless they contribute to the composition of the shot.
Photography
Photography
In July 2013, Perera started the "HomelessCEO" project, as a way to express the nomadic lifestyle of the modern CEO. Not spending more than four or five days in any one place, Perera took 168 flights and traveled more than 200,000 miles in 2014.
Other activities
Other activities
Perera was the founder of Switzerland-based Language Direct, an online language teaching company established in 2004. He is currently the CEO of Avilinga, a company offering translation solutions for the aviation industry, and the founder of nthspace, an artist's residency program with properties in Adelaide, Torino & Grímsey, Iceland (under construction). Perera is involved in the support of Australian Aboriginal art through his private collection as well as philanthropic activities in the field.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Cillín Perera”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q23664022: Cillín Perera
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.London Architecture Diary. Homeless CEO, 02 July – 31 July. 2 July 2015.
- 2.Fontaine, Andie Sophia. Writer's Residence Being Established on Grímsey. Iceland Review. 2024-07-21.
- 3.Cillín Perera Marron Institute. marroninstitute.nyu.edu.
- 4.Liz Durnan. The Rich Life of the Homeless CEO. Expedia. 27 March 2015.
- 5.Alexander D. Laskey. Late Night With Cillin. The Harvard Crimson. 16 December 1996.
- 6.British Film Institute. Cillin Perera.
- 7.Internet Movie Database. The Entire History of the Louisiana Purchase (1998): Awards.
- 8.Phil Coomes. Instagram: The 'homeless' chief executive. BBC News. 22 January 2015.
- 9.BBC World Service. The Homeless CEO. 21 January 2015.
- 10.Laura Traldi. Il businessman senzatetto. La Repubblica. 5 March 2015.
- 11.The Ten. The Ten with @homelessceo. Ollo Clip. 24 February 2016.
- 12.Adrem. Instagram Exhibition HomelessCEO. 2 July 2015.
- 13.nthspace.
- 14.Adamsdóttir, Margrét. A residence for writers looking for inspiration is being built on Grímsey - RÚV.is. RÚV. 2024-07-24.
- 15.Adam, Darren. RÚV English Radio - nthspace, GRÍMSEY - RÚV.is. RÚV. 2025-10-06.
- 16.South Australian Museum. Aboriginal Australian art history gets the scholarship it deserves through the South Australian Museum. 4 November 2016.
- 17.Australian Broadcasting Company. Philanthropic money to fund Aboriginal art history. 10 December 2016.
- 18.Community & Indigenous Radio. Documenting Aboriginal Art History. 8 December 2016.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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