Studies in Pollution #7, River Thames, from The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates - Limited Edition 3 of 12 Photograph

In the photography book 'The Unseen – An Atlas of Infrared Plates' (Schilt Publishing 2016), British documentary photographer Edward Thompson set out to explore the boundaries of our perception. Inspired by the various uses of infrared film throughout history, he has gathered an extensive archive of work using some of the last deadstock rolls of Kodak Aerochrome Infrared film ever made. Colour infrared film had over 1,800 documented uses; in this book a dozen of them have been expanded upon, pushing the purposes and properties of the film to its scientific and conceptual limits. From aerial photographs of London to still life photography of vital organs, landscape photography and nude portraiture, the book covers a vast range of photographic tropes. The projects have come together within the book to create a wider narrative that questions the nature of our reality, our past and what could be our future. The Unseen is a swan song to the medium of colour infrared film photography, of which this book has also become an artefact, a part of its history.