LET'S HOPE THEY'RE FRIENDLY | ARTIST STATEMENT

 In 1978, New Zealand reported its most significant UFO sighting to date in the small town of Kaikoura. New Zealand born photographer Derek Henderson was 15 years old at the time and was there sleeping on the side of the road. The memories of what he did or didn’t see, have stayed with him and are the impetus for this new body of work.

Drawing on his past use of large format works from the series MERCY MERCER and THE TERRIBLE BOREDOM OF PARADISE, Henderson has created new landscapes of New Zealand on his 4 x 5" camera. These are very real highly detailed photographs taken in the midday light so as not to be misty, murky images normally associated with UFO sightings.

These works ask the viewer to question reality and our part in the greater universe.