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[capture] sep_oct.19people profile
It becomes richer if you’re open to things. And the way that feeds
back into the work is that later in life you come to understand certain
things. It’s important that what you do makes the world strange again,
makes the world mysterious again, because, as Einstein said, mystery
is the most beautiful thing in the world.”
Do your thing regardless
Henson is also relatively oblivious to changes in the art market. “I don’t
spend a lot of time out in the art scene, let alone the art market. I
really enjoy gardening and working, going to the gym, and making my
work.” He has a particular way of working. “I listen to music and I do
that very deliberately. It’s not in the background. I have to find the
right thing to listen to and then I’ll play it four hundred times.” He is
unperturbed by the fracas of 2008, when police seized key works from
his Oxley show after complaints that it contained child pornography.
Child protection advocates claimed that Henson’s nude images of a
thirteen-year-old girl represented the sexual exploitation of a minor and
demanded he be prosecuted. Henson’s defenders disagreed –
vehemently. Henson’s models, many of them in their teens, defended
the artist vehemently. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd declared the images
to be “absolutely revolting” and without artistic merit. This was a
poison arrow. Henson gained the support of many high-profile
members of, and institutions in, the artistic community. Ultimately,
the NSW Department of Public Prosecutions recommended that no
charges be laid against Henson, and the Australian Classification
Board gave the images in question a PG rating.
He does, though, have an attitude about censorship. It is unexpectedly
fair. “There are interesting ways in which you can view censorship,” he
begins, “and I think that people of intelligence understand that a lot of
what we talk about in art comes down to taste. People are different.
People’s taste varies. People’s interest varies, and so the conversation about
what’s acceptable or not acceptable in terms of art has a kind of filter that
people have to go through individually.” He adds, “What art does is
reinforce the priority of individual experience. It sends you back into
yourself, and that’s a tremendously important and valuable thing. We have
to remind ourselves that people are different and one of the great aspects
of a civilised society is its capacity to accommodate different and opposing
points of view.” He is unimpressed by the histrionics that Me Too
generated. While recognising that no one should do harm to another, he
stresses that the bounds of acceptable behaviour change with time. He
sees that the norms of the sixties to the eighties are undergoing a
correction, and with every action there’s always a reaction. “It’s physics,”
he explains, “and let’s not forget that culture is never outside nature.”
Henson’s conclusion about censorship is fascinating. A true creative,
he has a point of view that stands out in the crowd. It makes you stop and
think. “Everyone is so concerned with being comfortable. I’m troubled by
that. I think that this quest for comfort is undermining or weakening
people. I’m not sure that the Me Too thing is all good. Significant parts
are, but significant parts are weakening the people who should be getting
stronger. I’m someone who sees this as incredibly complex.”Everyone is so
concerned
with beingcomfortable.
I’m troubledby that.
ABOVE: Untitled
1994-95.
Type C
photograph,
adhesive tape,
pins, glassine
250 x 244.3 cm continued on page 50