National War Museum Opens Helmand Photography Exhibition Today

A new exhibition Helmand Return will open at the National War Museum in Edinburgh today 27 February, showcasing the latest body of work from renowned photographer Robert Wilson. The exhibition documents British troops' final tour of Afghanistan and builds on his 2008 project Helmand: Faces of Conflict, which was exhibited at the National War Museum in 2009.

In 2014 Wilson revisited Afghanistan as an official war artist, tasked with recording the British troops' final operational tour. The resulting exhibition offers a unique perspective on a much documented conflict,allowing a rare insight into the process of withdrawing from a war zone. In each of the pictures, Wilson captures the essence of the human and logistical challenges faced during the transfer of responsibility and withdrawal, including many never-before recorded sights both on and off base. Images include a soldier sculpting a metal rose from shrapnel for a loved one back home, intimate glimpses of life in the camp and beautifully composed portraits of the men and women preparing to head home.

In a year of retrospective imagery surrounding the centenary of the First World War, these images provide a fresh perspective on the photography of conflict.

Stuart Allan, Principal Curator of Scottish Late Modern Collections at National Museums Scotland said,

"Helmand Return is a compelling denouement to the story presented in Robert Wilson's previous exhibition,Helmand: Faces of Conflict, of images taken during the height of the British military operation. Robert's pictures offer a different impression from the reportage we are used to seeing, and these recent images invite reflection not just on the recent British experience but also on the future for Afghanistan."

Robert Wilson said,

"I wanted to return to Helmand because having seen the scale of operations previously I was fascinated about how they would go about deconstructing this war machine. I also was intent in finding images that would allow us some connection with the troops out there. Elements that we would recognise in our own lives rather than just objects of war that we could choose to ignore."

Born in London in 1969, Robert Wilson studied photography at Blackpool and Fylde College. His work has since been consistently recognised from The Association of Photographers Awards, European Art Directors Club, The Design & Art Directors Club, and the John Kobal Portrait Awards, and he currently has several portraits in the permanent collections of both the National Portrait Gallery in London and Scottish National Portrait Gallery. His exhibition Helmand: Faces of Conflict had an extended run at the National War Museum in Edinburgh during 2009, and in 2011, Helmand, an outdoor exhibition of large format prints, was shown on the roof of the Hayward Gallery during the Southbank Centre's Festival of Britain and published by Jonathan Cape books.

Helmand Return is created by Robert Wilson, curated by Catherine Collins and Rhiannon Adam, and loaned by Gallery One and a Half.