Repurposing AK47s for peace, CRYPTO KALASH stories with Bran Symondson

The Artistic Expression of War to Improve the Environment and Re-establish Masculine Identity with Bran Symondson

Bran Symondson is a British photographer, artist, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and art collector.

He is considered to be one of the most acclaimed reportage photographers of the 21st Century. Bran started his career in the 1990s working alongside renowned photographers such as Gavin Bond, David La Chapelle, and Nadav Kander.

In 2004, Bran started the selection process to join the British Army Special Forces Reserves. After completing pre-deployment training in 2007, Bran was deployed to Afghanistan, Helmand Province.

During the tour in Afghanistan, Bran continued to capture images on his camera of the civilians he met along the way, collating images of the land and people - he vowed to himself he will create some inspiring art if he ever made it back to London. He documented his life-changing experiences under gunfire with a simple Canon G9 camera, these significant images culminated in his first show “The Best View of Heaven is from Hell”.

The photographs Bran took of young Afghanistan boys holding decorated AK47s with butterfly stickers and flowers gave Bran the idea to embellish the assault rifle with money and butterflies.

It was during his last tour of duty training the Afghan National Police (ANP), which now patrols this province, that Symondson became fascinated with the force’s distinctive ethos. So he returned as a civilian photographer “embedded” with them to document something far more unique than the endless fields of opium.

The Sunday Times decided to commission Bran to go back to Afghanistan and re-shoot the images as a civilian photographer. After being awarded the 2011 Amnesty International Media Award for his photograph “Lost Boys”, Symondson decided to develop the concept of his photographs further and he began to work on the sell-out show “AKA Peace”.