The Enclave

The Enclave: A Social Art Piece

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2
Space

The Enclave is an art piece by Richard Mosse that can captive all senses in ways other art
pieces fail to do. Seated on the third floor of the Portland Art Museum, The Enclave shakes those
exhibits below it. Surrounded by photographs that tease the experience is a single dark corridor.
Before the show even begins the viewer is plunged into darkness trying to find their way
desperately to this promised item; almost like a carnival fun house. When the tunnel ends,
hanging before them are four white screens, with another two mounted on the walls. In a
completely black room somewhere there are two benches that a couple of viewers may try to find
but once the show starts everyone will change positions in order to best view the screen hopping
images.
For everyone this is the universal experience of The Enclave, before the actual show
begins. Individually however, expressions give away The Enclaves full effects. For me; the
atmosphere and the layout of the space all helped to create the experience; but it was the sounds
that stole my reality. At moments the volume was so loud and audio so piercing I felt as if I need
to escape somehow. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had unfolded itself onto the room
and much like name less faces I could not escape. Every whisper, rustle, and gunshot felt
conscious; like a night mare where you know you are dreaming but cannot awaken. These
thoughts brought on by the speakers surrounding me coupled with the images flashing on the
screen made for the inescapable feelings of empathy and shame. However, quickly the emotions
were dwarfed by the immense beauty Richard Mosse had brought to the piece through his use of
infrared film that changes green to pink.

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The infrared film used in this piece helps to convey not just the beauty of life, but show
how distracted our minds can be. Upon the screens sits a wonderful pink image; pleasing to the
eye with how it contrasts next to ordinary colors. This is the visible side of the DRC, a pleasant
and ordinary African country. At odds with this is the ever present audio, mostly made up of
what I can only describe as the clamor of conflict. Ever present the audio envelops you in an
often contradictory moment of beauty and pain. This is the invisible aspects to the DRC at work.
The internal war that has been affecting homes and families is reaching only as far as the DRC
borders. What is visible to the audience members on the world stage is either not what they need
to see or want to hear. In this case the DRC becomes the dirt you sweep under the rug when you
have already picked the rest up; people have lost interest. Though for the people in the DRC this
invisible problem to the rest of the world is very visible to them. Just like you or I sitting in The
Enclave, they hear the violence and see the death every where they look; even amongst the
beauty.
Visual Event
The Enclave is comprised of several video, audio, and photographic pieces each
connecting with the audience on different levels. When first observing The Enclave, I felt
disconnected from the piece that was until I witnessed two short clips. The two short video clips
I came away with were of what seemed to be a refugee camp. Make shift blue tarp-tents
appeared to stretch for miles as the camera tracked through this area. The first clip followed
young children through the camp as they weaved between make shift houses. As it followed
them, you were able to see the personalities and survival within the space. The clip ended with
what appeared to be the entire camp lined up and greeting the camera as it went by. Perhaps not
smiling or waving but presenting themselves as if to reiterate this was their home. The next clip

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showed the same or very similar refugee camp in ruins. Make shift homes torn to pieces and
others simply burned to the ground. The track shot lasted for what seemed an eternity, making
you speculate if at the end was a pile of charred corpses. This difference was swift and startling;
causing a river of emotions that were so complex in the moment I could not look away for fear of
misinterpreting them.
These two images coupled with their audio convey to me that the concept a community
is easily broken. The conflicts and social instability taking place within the region have caused
this idea of community to fall apart, creating the broken DRC shown in The Enclave. In the
context of the DRC the community can be applied to not just individual places but also the
country as a whole such as when speaking of the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs). This multitude of (IDPs) is changing the face of the country As well as depleting the
meagre resources of the hosts, massive influxes of displaced persons have in places pushed up
land prices, fuelled criminality and undermined social cohesion (NAIROBI, 2015). The
concepts mentioned in the quote above reveal why the DRC is stuck in the perpetual chaos it has
faced since 1994. The communities within the DRC whether they be camps, towns, or host
communities are being broken faster by the people within instead of the outside conflict. This
creates a lasting cycle of not just violence but IDPs who many have to be on the run their entire
life. However many of these communities created for IDPs fleeing conflict can very well
belong to rebel groups "The nature of this armed group is that it's very dispersed, it's immersed
within the local population, (Lengthy Battle, 2015). This creates for a humanitarian issue as
well as adds to the perpetual violence. With the rebel groups absorbed into the local population it
makes it extremely difficult not only to quickly eliminate them, but also garner the help of the
communities. IDPs may be frightened to oust the internal rebel groups living among them for

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fear of retaliation. Because of this, change has not come to the Congo in over 10 years and
continues remain unobtainable.
Another factor that comes into play when speaking of the DRCs unending state of
turmoil is globalization. Globalization has no one clear definition but can be summed up as the
level of the state related to trade or politics but also at the level of peoples daily lives, which
includes culture and identity. (Smallman & Brown, 2011). When speaking of the DRC
globalization has many roles but one that stands out in particular is its role on the global stage.
The conflict in the DRC is a global humanitarian crisis that arguably should have the worlds
attention, yet it does not. This can be explained by several factor whether it be recourses, money,
stakes in the local economy, or the amount of time this conflict has gone on. Without the needed
attention from the global community the DRC will arguably remain in the state it has been in for
over ten years. This will continue the breakdown of communities, infrastructure, culture, and
global ties. The longer this occurs the more the rebels and IDPs in this nation will lose their
senses of identity and only have the conflict to relate to. Perpetuating the violence in the DRC
and arguably creating a never ending power vacuum.
Overall Reaction
The Enclave is a unique art piece in the sense that it can be freely interpreted, yet sends a
clear message. The Portland art museum states The Enclave attempts cast this forgotten tragedy
in a new spectrum of light, to make this forgotten humanitarian disaster visible. (The
Enclave,.n.d.). This goal expressed by the Portland Art Museum and shared with the artist
Richard Mosse, is both achieved and falls short when expressed in this manner. Having
experienced The Enclave I was left with indescribable emotions and a new awareness of the

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DRC. However this alone is not enough to understand the plight these people face, let alone the
chaos that envelops the region. Though I emerged from The Enclave with a new image of the
conflict I had no more understanding of what it was about or who it was with than the moment I
followed the dark tunnel in. While The Enclave does a brilliant job at conveying emotion and
starting a conversation, there is a lack of information about the topic of piece unless you look for
it.
The Enclave is the only art exhibit that can draw attention to more than just the exhibit
itself. The artist Richard Mosse has created a space in where the audience not only views the
piece but experiences the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Entirely unique for other pieces in
the Portland Art Museum, The Enclave demands attention unlike the Van Gogh hanging on a
wall. The piece creates discussion where there previously was none and brings the DRC back to
the fore front of everyones minds. For these reasons I say The Enclave has captured my heart as
well as my mind. Before going to the exhibit I had no knowledge of the DRC and am still
lacking in information. However after having seen The Enclave I not only feel more aware, I feel
obligated to stay aware. If my experience is anything like that of others, this conversation about
the DRC should stay present in the public mind. This would create the long needed interest from
the global community for intervention as a means to bring change to the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.

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7
References

Lengthy Battle Seen Against Rwandan Rebels in DRC. (2015, January 22). Retrieved January
30, 2015, from http://www.voanews.com/content/lengthy-battle-seen-against-rwandanrebels-democratic-republic-congo/2609720.html
Nairobi. (2015, January 27). Much aid, little long-term impact in DRC. Retrieved January 30,
2015, from http://www.irinnews.org/report/101053/much-aid-little-long-term-impact-indrc
Smallman, S., & Brown, K. (2011). History. In Introduction to international & global studies(p.
23). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
The Enclave - Portland Art Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2015, from
http://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/enclave/