Untitled 1987/88, from the series Untitled 1987/88

In the late 1980s Henson began to explore a new way of presenting his photographs. Instead of creating one work composed of sequential images, he 'internalised' these multiple elements into one picture. In 1987 he produced his first large-scale 'cut-screen', using the subject matter of the metropolis with its nightlife and violence, its cold neons and implicit despair. The beauty of these images is disrupted when they are cut; they are then pinned and taped onto plywood screens. Most of the works are composed of a life-size central image surrounded by fragments of other photographs, often taken at different times or in different locations.

extract from Isobel Crombie, first published Bill Henson, 46th Biennale of Venice, Australian Exhibitions Touring Agency Ltd, Melbourne 1995, republished Bill Henson: Mnemosyne, Scalo, Zurich/AGNSW, Sydney 2005 p 383