Ben Frost has reunited with photographer and filmmaker Richard Mosse for another politically edged project.

The Icelandic composer was recently embedded on a US aircraft carrier with Mosse (who previously travelled with him to the Democratic Republic of Congo, inspiring last year’s A U R O R A) and cinematographer Trevor Tweeten to make a Channel 4 documentary titled Bombing Isis.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt was stationed in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran to command bombing missions over Syria and Iraq.

In a joint statement, the trio said: “Activities aboard an active, forward deployed aircraft carrier are, of course, absolutely newsworthy. But, as artists, we were also very impressed by the sublime physical forces that were active on deck: the tremendous deafening metal machine noise, the very dangerous heat (up to 65 Celsius), the somatic, body-shaking vibration, the violent crashing and furious catapulting of multi-million dollar aircraft loaded with deadly ordinance.

“Yet the crew working in this ferocious environment remain perfectly calm, signalling to each other with coded gestures like actors in an absurdist theatre play. The ship’s crew were thoroughly genial and kind towards us, which seemed oddly incongruous with their task of fixing deadly payloads to enormous killing machines. There was even a sense of tenderness with which they serviced this vicious apparatus, cleaning salty residue from every exposed surface, carefully wheeling missiles, thoroughly inspecting the deck for loose debris, hauling chains.

“This is the triumph of modern warfare, casting a veil over individual ethical culpability, concealing bloody hands with lily-white gloves.” [via Pitchfork]

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