Irish photographer wins the 2014 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize

Irish photographer Richard Mosse has won the prestigious 2014 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.

The £30,000 prize was presented by British artist Richard Wentworth at the Photographers' Gallery in central London last night.

Each year, the prize is awarded to “a photographer of any nationality for their significant contribution to the medium of photography, either through an exhibition or publication in Europe”, in the last 12 months.

Mosse was nominated for his multimedia installation exhibition The Enclave at Venice Biennale, Irish Pavilion.

In the work, Mosse photographs landscapes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where 5.4 million people have died of war-related causes since 1998.

Shot on discontinued military surveillance film, the resulting images register an invisible spectrum of infrared light, rendering the jungle warzone in disorientating, psychedelic hues.

The project attempts to find an alternate way of communicating what is a complex and horrific cycle of violence.

Mosse was chosen from a shortlist that included photographers Alberto García-Alix, Jochen Lempert, and Lorna Simpson, who each receive £3000.

The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2014, featuring work by all four shortlisted artists, is on show at The Photographers’ Gallery until June 22nd.

It will then travel to the Deutsche Börse headquarters in Frankfurt and Eschborn.