Meels' Year of the Photo part four - Patriotism and Boredom via Derek Henderson

I stumbled across kiwi photographer Derek Henderson on online archive Tiny Vices, which, despite being somewhat peripheral to this post, is fantastic in its own right. Curated by photographer, curator and publisher Tim Barber (pop culture word du jour for this is a 'slashie,' however I reserve the right to not ever type the word again), Tiny Vices has an ever growing collection of up and coming photographers and artists. Big fat art nerds may recognise names like Dash Snow and Ryan McGinley, the first of which I am ambivalent about, the second of which I quite like. Big names notwithstanding, not even I have enough patience to wander through all of the portfolios, but having read Henderson's name somewhere on the webs before, and in a moment of pure Kiwi parochioalism, I checked it out. Wow. Henderson's photos aren't showy or elaborate, yet somehow they are still breathtaking. Call it waxing lyrical but I get a really strong sense of achey, smalltown boredom, coupled with (contrasting with?) a sense of stillness and calm. I guess the way in which we identify with and understand home, both as an actuality and a concept can hardly be extracted to one sole feeling, so this contradictory nature is probably closer to the truth than it initially seems. Anyway, less philosophising, more looking at Henderson's photos. They really are quite incredible.

EDIT: These come from the series "I Go Down to the River to Pray," but the very best are available to view as a slideshow on Henderson's website. And, coincidentally, the series featuring my favourites is called "The Terrible Boredom of Paradise." So I guess I wasn't imagining that sense of boredom after all. Also, check out the series of Maori teenagers. Wow. That is all.