Haunting beauty and violence intersect in the pages of Infra: Photographs by Richard Mosse, accompanied by an informative essay, steeped in historical fact, by Adam Hochschild (To End All Wars). Mosse, an Irish photographer whose work has been exhibited internationally, elevates photojournalism to a new level by documenting the ongoing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo via the use of Kodak Aerochrome, a now discontinued light-sensitive color film that absorbs an invisible spectrum of infrared light. (The film was designed as an aerial surveillance film for military purposes.) Infrared light cannot be seen with the human eye. Thus, Mosse's photographs absorb color schemes that render lush green landscapes, jungles and even military uniforms into vivid, otherworldly hues of crimson, fuchsia, hot pink and intense shades of blue and purple-violet. The skewed color palate of spectacular panoramas juxtaposed against portraits of warlords, nomads and rebel militia besieged by the horrors and violence of a multi-sided war increases the eerie visual drama, reflecting the complex, staggering instability of a region still in crisis.
Mosse's unusual esthetic approach keeps viewers off-balance, with a perspective that encourages a closer look at the surreal and unexpected aspects of each print. By conflating the boundary between visual reality and fantasy, Mosse evokes a deeper contextual consciousness and understanding of the problems inherent in a region still trying to recover from one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time.-- Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines