Author(s): Derek Henderson

NZ Art

From abandoned rural New Zealand landscapes to the residents of the alternative communities, from Maori teenagers and workers at the Waitoa Slaughterhouse to fashion models and intimate moments from private life, Henderson's varied subject matter is united by an approach marked by a kind of democratic naturalism, where all phenomena is given equal attention. Altough variously described as anti-heroic and anti-iconic, Henderson's interest in the 'ordinary' can be deceptive and his narratives often reveal themselves to be more complex and unsteady than they first appear. Mercy Mercer's 128 colour photographs of the Waikato river, its neighbours, travelers - typically 'New Zealand' in flavour - are punctuated by unexpected moments that tell unofficial stories of New Zealand: tales of colonial invasion, poverty, immigration, boredom and the ecological degredation of the landscape by the hands of commerce.