Whelan's work has been exhibited internationally at the Dhaka Art Summit; MAK, Vienna; Centre Pompidou, Metz; Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai; Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway; Museum Bochum. His films have been screened internationally at the Dublin International Film Festival; Aesthetica Film Festival; Kiasma Museum, Helsinki; TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, Ireland; Kunstverein Bremerhaven. He received a BA in Fine Art from IADT Dún Laoghaire and an MA in Fine Art from the University of the Arts, London. He has had two books published: 'The sun shone on the nothing new', published by Grey Noise, Dubai/Lismore Castle Arts, and 'Red Sky Morning', published by Argobooks, Berlin. In 2021, Michael received the Stiftung Kunstfonds Project Award, and the Arts Council Reel Art Award to make his first documentary feature. His work is part of the collections of the Arts Council of Ireland, the University of the Arts, London, and the IADT Dún Laoghaire collection.

Centred around the community and landscape of the darkest inhabited place in Ireland, photographer and filmmaker Michael J. Whelan's new documentary Fields of Darkness explores diverse physical and metaphorical perspectives on darkness, weaving together stories from archaeology, spirituality, astronomy, music, and blindness.