Bill HENSON: Untitled 107

2026 MAPh Photography Fair

Bill HENSON
born Australia 1955
Untitled 107  985–86
from the series Untitled 1985–86
27.1 x 22.7
Bill Henson courtesy of Bill Henson, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (Sydney)
From a limited edition print set for MAPh's 30th anniversary, edition of 7

Bill Henson (1955-)

Bill Henson is one of Australia's most distinguished artists. His darkly enigmatic photographs have been exhibited extensively both in Australia and around the world over a period of more than four decades. An internationally acclaimed artist, Henson's images encompass many themes. His sublime imagery capture fleeting sensations through the shadows and the distanced golden glow of nature, the transition between the known world and the unknown. The sense of mystery and ambiguity within the images is heightened by Henson’s use of chiaroscuro to selectively obscure and reveal forms. The intensity and the intimacy of his images reflect a space between the mystical and the real. Henson's artistic process is not unlike the painter's: "just as you can scrape back areas of painting and go over them, you do follow something along over maybe several weeks and change things until it slips past its best point and you lose it. And then there's a long, often a very long, period when the work is turning into something else - you can't wind it back to whatever it was²."

Henson's first solo exhibition, held at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne in 1975 when he was 19 years old, heralded the beginnings of a unique photographic vision of the Australian landscape. The NGV has now acquired over 100 works by Henson, the most significant of any public institution. Henson represented Australia at the 46th Venice Biennale in 1995. His photographic works have been exhibited extensively both locally and internationally over an incredible 45-year career. Henson's seminal work is held in every major public collection in Australia and numerous important museum collections worldwide.

This work, Untitled 107, is held within MAPh's collection and was exhibited within The light fades but the gods remain, a major exhibition showcasing two key series by Henson, exploring the suburb of Glen Waverley where he grew up.

In celebration of MAPh's 25th anniversary, Bill Henson was commissioned to revisit the suburb of his childhood and to produce a new body of work that reflects upon his earlier series Untitled 1985–86, known by many as ‘the suburban series’. 

This ground-breaking commission offers an unparalleled insight into one of Australia’s most revered artists, as he explores the notion of home, intensifying the everyday to a point of dramatic revelation and romantic beauty.

This special limited edition print was created to commemorate MAPh's 30th anniversary.