Bill Henson

Bill Henson:
"Henson's elegant formal photographs - of battered landscapes and fragile, wispy youths - resemble nothing so much as Flemish still-life; rarely has colour photography captured so profoundly the furry texture of night time." - THE NEW YOKER, 2004

Henson's artworks reflect his interest in the interval of teenagers and adults. The use of chiaroscuro is common throughout his works. His photos are highly painterly and are often presented in the style of diptychs, triptychs and other specific groupings.

Henson's works often meditate on the categories and relationships of male and female; youth and adulthood; day and night; light and dark; nature and civilization. His photographs are often flattened and abstracted. The faces of the subjects are often blurred or partly shadowed and positioned not directly towards the audience.

Henson presents “adolescents in their states of despair, intoxication and immature ribaldry”. He has said that these “moments of transition and metamorphoses are important in everyone’s lives”

Henson's intention is to use photography for creative expression. He states that he is not interested in a political or sociological agenda, although the viewer cannot help but relate his works to their own stance on these issues. Henson, however, is not intending his photographs to be authoritative evidence but rather to suggest endless possibilities and cause people to wonder.