Sean Power: in Afghanistan - photographic exhibition
16 November 2009 - 20 November 2009
A photographic record of three weeks in Afghanistan by Sean Power, an ex-Royal Marine, who spent three weeks embedded with one of the forward line fighting regiments in Afghanistan. Opens at 9.00am on Monday 16 November 2009.
Where: Gallery 27, 27 Cork St, Mayfair, London W1S 3NG Google Map
When: From Monday 16 to Friday 20 November 2009, open 9.00am to 6.00pm
Afghanistan, August 2009
A soldier from the 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistics Regiment marks a clear route across a vulnerable point for the 'Viking' armoured vehicles to drive through.
Sean Power
Sean is 27 years old. He served in 40 Commando Royal Marines between 2002 and 2007 and has completed operational tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, and left as a corporal.
During his last tour of Afghanistan, Sean's troop had a journalist from the Times, Anthony Lloyd, embedded with them. Inspired by Anthony's own personal story, Sean decided to leave the military and pursue his dream of becoming a photo-journalist (although he remains an active member of the Royal Marines Reserve).
In September 2007, Sean enrolled in a course at the London College of Communication to do a degree in photo-journalism. Just before Christmas of the same year, Sean was burgled, having £5000 worth of photography equipment stolen – his life savings.
In April of 2008, The Royal British Legion stepped in to provide a now desperate Sean with the money to replace his equipment, thus enabling him to continue on the course and carry on with his dream. Eternally grateful, Sean has always been willing to help the Legion in any and all public activities and has as a result become the de facto official Legion photographer.
Afghanistan
Last summer, the Legion sought to embed Sean with a forward unit in Afghanistan in order to capture 'the human face of war' and try to show what the Army is facing.
After going through the complex and competitive application process with the Ministry of Defence, including co-opting some very senior military staff to endorse him, he won his embed.
In October 2009, Sean spent three weeks back on the ground in Afghanistan, living with and photographing the men and women of Task Force Helmand during their routine patrols and their down time.
This exhibition is of the best of those photographs. We sincerely hope that you can find time to come and join us and see for yourselves some of the finest war imagery of a generation.
The Times has posted a slide show of a selection of Sean's photos, "a rare glimpse of the British soldier's life in Helmand in photographs taken by one of their own."
For more information and press enquiries, please contact:
Ed Lloyd Owen - PR Officer, The Royal British Legion
Tel: +44 (0)20 3207 2243 Mob: 07824 301 072
A video of the private viewing of the exhibition held on Tuesday 17 November and hosted on our YouTube channel is available below.
