Richard Mosse (born 1980) is an Irish conceptual documentary photographer.

Early life and education

Mosse was born in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, Ireland. He lives and works in New York and Berlin. He received a first class BA in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 2001, an

MRes A Master of Research (abbr. MRes, MARes, MScRes, or MScR) degree is an internationally recognised advanced postgraduate research degree. In most cases, the degree is designed to prepare students for doctoral research. Increasingly, the degree may ...

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

from the

London Consortium From 1993 to 2012, The London Consortium was a graduate school in the UK offering multidisciplinary Masters and Doctoral programs in the humanities and cultural studies at the University of London. It was administered by Birkbeck, University of ...

in 2003, a

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

in fine art from

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

in 2005 and a photography MFA from

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

in 2008.

Work

Critic

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...

, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', said "His images from there often seem to skirt the real and the fictional, simply though ictheir heightened and unreal colours. He has made the familiar seem strange and the real seem heightened to the point of absurdity. This is war reportage – but not as we know it." Willy Staley, writing in the ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'', said "Mosse highlights the eastern Congo's natural bounty while acknowledging both the medium's origins and, he points out, the West's tendency to see in the Congo only darkness and insanity."

Criticism

Mosse has received criticism for his work, notably from Ireland, for presenting difficult global conflicts or deeply personal situations amidst these conflicts in an overly aestheticised way, being described as "problematic", "troubling", and discomforting.

Career

He has worked in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Haiti and the former Yugoslavia. Mosse made photographs of the war in the eastern

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

using colour

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

film with which he intended to create a new perspective on conflict. Kodak Aerochrome is a false-color infrared film originally intended for aerial vegetation surveys and for military reconnaissance, such as to identify camouflaged targets. It registers light that is invisible to humans, rendering the grass and trees and soldiers' uniforms in vivid hues of lavender, crimson and hot pink. He used this same film to make a documentary film entitled ''The Enclave'', with cinematographer Trevor Tweeten and composer

Ben Frost Ben Frost (born 1980) is an Australian-Icelandic musician, composer, record producer, sound designer, and director. Life Born in Melbourne, Australia, and based in Reykjavík, Iceland, since 2005, Frost composes minimalist, instrumental, a ...

. This work was published in three publications, exhibited in solo exhibitions, and won the

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym *Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...

in 2014. In 2017 his video installation ''Incoming'', commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Barbican Art Gallery, also made with Frost and Tweeten, won the

Prix Pictet The Prix Pictet (Pictet prize) is an international award in photography. It was founded in 2008 by the Geneva-based Pictet Group with the mandate to use the power of photography to communicate messages about sustainability to a global audience. Its ...

. In 2020 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

Solo exhibitions

*2008: ''Airside,'' Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. *2012: ''Infra,'' Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin. *2012: ''The Enclave'' (film),

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. Eight-channel version of his video installation. *2014: ''The Enclave,''

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established in ...

, London. *2017: ''Incoming,'' Curve Gallery,

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London;

Le Lieu unique The lieu unique is a center for contemporary culture located in Nantes, France. Opened at the beginning of the 21st century, it is housed in a former biscuit factory at the center of the city. It was founded by Jean Blaise, directed by Patrick Gyg ...

, Nantes, France, 2019.

Awards

* 2006–2008: Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts from the

Annenberg Public Policy Center The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) is a center for the study of public policy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. It has offices in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, where the University of Pennsyl ...

, University of Pennsylvania * 2011:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

* 2014:

*2017:

, for ''Heat Maps'' * 2020: Honorary Fellowship of the

, Bristol

Filmography

* ''The Enclave'' (2013) – a collaboration with cinematographer Trevor Tweeten and composer

. Made using 16 mm infrared film transferred to HD video. Shown as an installation comprising multiple double-sided screens installed in a darkened chamber. * ''Incoming'' (2017) – a collaboration with Frost and Tweeten.

Bibliography

* ''Infra.'' New York, NY:

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

, 2012. With an essay by

Adam Hochschild Adam Hochschild (; born October 5, 1942) is an American author, journalist, historian and lecturer. His best-known works include ''King Leopold's Ghost'' (1998), '' To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918'' (2011), ''Bur ...

. ** Hardback. . ** Collector's edition. Edition of 500 copies. * ''The Enclave.'' New York, NY: Aperture, 2013. With an essay by

Jason Stearns Jason Kauahooululaunaheleonakuahiwi Stearns (born October 31, 1976) is an American writer who worked for ten years in the Congo, including three years during the Second Congo War. He first traveled to the Congo in 2001 to work for a local human ...

. ** Paperback. . Edition of 750 copies. ** Boxed set. Edition of 250 copies. Includes a vinyl record with sound and music, designed by

; a poster featuring an image by Mosse; a transcription from the film; and a signed-and-numbered copy of the book. *''A Supplement to The Enclave''. Berlin: Broken Dimanche Press, 2014. . Edited by John Holten. With texts by Chrisy Lange, Patrick Mudekereza and Charles Stankievech and conversations between Richard Mosse and Trevor Tweeten and Ben Frost. Newspaper format. *''Richard Mosse Catalogue.'' Curve Publications. London: Barbican, 2017. With an interview between Mosse and Alona Pardo, and a text by Anthony Downey. *''Incoming.'' London: Mack, 2017. . With texts by

Giorgio Agamben Giorgio Agamben ( , ; born 22 April 1942) is an Italian philosopher best known for his work investigating the concepts of the state of exception, form-of-life (borrowed from Ludwig Wittgenstein) and '' homo sacer''. The concept of biopolitics ( ...

and Mosse. *''The Castle.'' London: Mack, 2018. With texts in a booklet by

Judith Butler Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...

, Paul K Saint Amour,

Behrouz Boochani Behrouz Boochani ( fa, بهروز بوچانی; born 23 July 1983) is a Iranian Kurdistan, Kurdish-Iranian journalist, human rights defender, writer and film producer living in New Zealand. He was held in the Australian-run Manus Regional Proce ...

and Mosse. . Second edition, 2019.

References

External links

*
Moss profile
carliergebauer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosse, Richard 1980 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Yale School of Art alumni Irish photographers People from County Kilkenny Irish contemporary artists Magnum photographers 21st-century British photographers