Sean Power: In Afghanistan

by Maddalena Dottori

The 27 Gallery in Cork Street is playing host to an amazing photographic exhibition, In Afghanistan, displaying the work of a London College of Communication student.

Twenty-seven year-old Sean Power, who is currently on his second year of the photojournalism degree course, is a former Royal Marine Commando who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.

During the summer, with the support of the Royal British Legion, Sean returned for three weeks to the front line in Afghanistan not as a soldier but as a photo reporter, with the intention of portraying the day-to-day lives of the British troops deployed there.

The result is a striking series of very intimate and unusual shots, showing soldiers as we have rarely had the chance to see them, as individuals trying to cope with the constant horrors of a seemingly endless war.

Soldiers playing a game of cards, enjoying a cigarette during a brief rest or trying to get a few hours of much needed sleep are all featured in this collection of more than 30 images.

The talented photographer, whose exceptional technical ability and attention for details are clearly visible in his work, introduces us to the behind-the-scene activities partaken by members of Task Force Helmand during their routine patrols and downtime in the desolate Afghan provinces.

Power also portrayed the developing relationship between troopers and locals in images such as Ear Ache, where L/Cpl Craig, a doctor with the Royal Tank Regiment, is shown while treating a young Afghan for an ear ache, or Lost in Translation, in which a Gurkha Corporal is seeing using his issued phrase book to try and communicate with a local man.

All the pictures are up for sale and all the proceedings will go to the Royal British Legion.

Sean Power: In Afghanistan
Until November 20
27 Gallery
27 Cork Street
London W1S 3NG

www.britishlegion.org.uk/seanpower

See also: Living with the troops