InfraMunk vol1
April 2021 ––"In this other earth the colors are much purer and more brilliant than they are down here. The mountains and stones have a richer gloss, a livelier transparency and intensity of hue." —Socrates
The duty of the seer is to witness the unseen, the contribution of the explorer is to chart the uncharted. Each has their vehicle, their instrument, and their process. It is on them that we depend for a vision of what is to come.
Enter GMUNK, who has increasingly been drawn to the process of infrared photography as a technique for mapping a world that lies beyond the perception of our naked eye. Essentially, manipulating the light spectrum to unearth the invisible landscape. In this series, shot across three vastly different earthly frontiers, we are inducted into a very personal journey.
GMUNK describes the process he undertakes to capture his INFRA photographs as 'a meditation in the quiet art.' It is a technique that demands a precision of seeing, and a discipline of composition that reveals the hidden patterns and tensions at play on the terrestrial surface. Candidly, he admits that shooting infrared is comparable to ingesting psychedelics for its capacity to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness. 'It’s a process of discovery, where the spectrum of light doesn’t reveal itself until you’re looking through the viewfinder – essentially serving as a portal to an unseen world of vivid textures and tension.'
The Promo
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As intermediaries between the visible and invisible worlds, shamans of Alaska’s indigenous Aleut worshipped the spirits of light. Looking through GMUNK’s infrared lens at the epic fjords that drop steeply into the polar Gulf, we are inducted into a paranormal realm that is as foreboding as it is enchanting. One gets a sense of the elements as players in some terrestrial choreography. What atmospheric force configures these low clouds that billow over the rugged volcanic terrain? What tectonic event cut this arterial river that descends from some unknown origin, emptying into harbors where glacial islands float like sentinels?
Reflecting on the Alaskan expedition, GMUNK notes that despite its inhospitable climate - cold air, moody cumulus, and incessant rain - here the land “surfaced its character in ways that made it, ironically, the most pleasurable to shoot.”
Reflecting on the Alaskan expedition, GMUNK notes that despite its inhospitable climate - cold air, moody cumulus, and incessant rain - here the land “surfaced its character in ways that made it, ironically, the most pleasurable to shoot.”
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Of the Icelandic topography, GMUNK notes that maximizing the infra-POV required a precision of composition. “You need to compose the breakups of the terrain into its elemental components, balancing a positive/negative space relationship.” Indeed, in this series, light inversion tricks the eye, so that scale is indeterminable. This is a playground of the gods. Where the lichen-covered ridges of a mountain range present as the spine of a prehistoric creature. And a black desert, cut by complex river systems, undulates beneath majestic, magenta spires. Meditating on GMUNK’s Iceland plates, allowing our focus to soften and surrender, a new planet emerges. Patterns surface that signal a deep network of ecological intelligence. A camouflaged territory that hints at some quantum kingdom that still awaits human discovery.
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One word defines the domain captured in GMUNKs Hawaiian plates: otherworldly. Using altitude as his instrument, he levitates us over a cosmic frontier with crimson skies and razor-sharp amethyst ridges. Into a sanctum where azure tides roll and crash onto scarlet shores far below mountain ranges that reflect every hue of the invisible magenta spectrum.
We can almost imagine these images coming from some as yet undiscovered planet. But a future colony was far from GMUNK’s thoughts as he worked from the air, chasing some of his most ambitious compositions. Despite his love for the sub-arctic biomes, this lush coastal ecosystem was like coming home.
We can almost imagine these images coming from some as yet undiscovered planet. But a future colony was far from GMUNK’s thoughts as he worked from the air, chasing some of his most ambitious compositions. Despite his love for the sub-arctic biomes, this lush coastal ecosystem was like coming home.
Box Set
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Each Single Edition came with a meticulously designed box set that contains a metal print of the minted piece, a collectors plate and the entire InfraMunk vol1 set. The box set was designed in collaboration with the legendary Michael Cina and tells the story of the first three locations of InfraMunk history in immaculate detail, complete with cover pages and vellum inserts.
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In this series, GMUNK explores the full-spectrum of light as time-lapse, entitled InfraMunk tempus. Elevating the static InfraMunk techniques into motion was the next evolution of the series. This allowed the viewer to observe the full-spectrum of light in time-lapse and capture nature's movement as it manifests freely within this invisible light.
Collectors who purchased all four pieces received a bonus 5th time-lapse, the Prime Nanometer – a very special piece in the series.
Collectors who purchased all four pieces received a bonus 5th time-lapse, the Prime Nanometer – a very special piece in the series.
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Credit List
Photographer: GMUNK
Digital Artist: GMUNK
Composer: Keith Ruggiero
Concept Writer: Stephen Marshall
Box Set Designer: Michael Cina
Box Set Printer: Jon Peterson
Box Set Previs: BlkMarket
Photographer: GMUNK
Digital Artist: GMUNK
Composer: Keith Ruggiero
Concept Writer: Stephen Marshall
Box Set Designer: Michael Cina
Box Set Printer: Jon Peterson
Box Set Previs: BlkMarket