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Bill Henson wants to ‘make the world strange again’ with rare new work
By Meg Watson
Photographer Bill Henson has been exhibiting work in Australia for almost five decades, but he can count the number of commissions he’s taken on one hand.
“If someone asks [me] to do something, it usually puts me off immediately,” he says. “It’s why I never went to art school.”
The Australian Ballet’s artistic director David Hallberg (left) and Bill Henson pictured with Untitled 2024 in Henson’s studio.Credit: Justin McManus
But when Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre re-opens in 2027 after a significant renovation, a large commissioned work from the acclaimed – and famously controversial – artist will hold pride of place in the foyer.
Measuring approximately two metres by three metres, Untitled 2024 is the first work in what Arts Centre chief executive Karen Quinlan has called “a new contemporary artist commissioning program” for the building.
But the program is entirely dependent on philanthropic contributions, and no other works have yet been commissioned. Much, then, depends on the Henson work making a splash.
The photograph features the artistic director of The Australian Ballet, David Hallberg, styled as Dante (complete with a wreath of bay leaves taken from Henson’s garden), hovering in the theatre as it undergoes renovation.
Behind the scenes of the photo shoot with photographer Bill Henson (left) and his subject, Australian Ballet artistic director David Hallberg.Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen
The idea, Henson says, “popped into my head when I was staring at this gutted auditorium”. He had been listening to composer Franz Liszt, particularly Dante Symphony, and this is the reason he decided to take on the work.
Henson enlisted the help of architectural photographer John Gollings to capture the space via drone, and then shot Hallberg in his studio with “big, old-fashioned Hollywood film lights”.
“You have the industrial wasteland and all the kind of mechanical stuff and technology that goes with it, and then you have this image from the world of the imagination. The more I thought about it, the more incongruous and bizarre it seemed, and therefore the more interesting.
“One of the great things that art does – good art, anyway – is it makes the world strange again.”
Untitled 2024 will be displayed in the State Theatre foyer. Credit: Bill Henson
The State Theatre, which is home to The Australian Ballet, has been closed since early 2024 for redevelopment. Though the changes will greatly improve the venue, they have also caused massive disruption in the arts world, with companies having to find alternate venues for the next three years.
Quinlan – who describes Henson as “one of Australia’s greatest artists” approached the photographer, and after he landed on Hallberg as a subject, his idea was taken to donors for funding (for an amount Quinlan chooses not to disclose).
“I wanted to begin a more formal approach, acquiring works of art that portray people who are important in our industry,” she says. “I think the result is spectacular.”
The Arts Centre collection houses work from Australian artists including Sidney Nolan, Jeffrey Smart, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen – all of whom were commissioned to create work for the buildings by designer John Truscott.
Asked about the dominance of male artists, Quinlan said it was an issue she thinks “we can redress in the future”.
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