WAR ARTIST TOUR 2013

Traditionally a War Artist is expected to capture the ESSENCE OF A CAMPAIGN - not an easy task for a complete outsider. To achieve this - I was keen to also involve the soldiers directly in the process, incorporating their thoughts and ideas to create the finished art works. This led to the creation of the Rat. I think the film gives a rather different feel as it was mostly taken in the REME buildings. They had by far the smartest offices in Bastion because of the size of the vehicles coming in and high tech equipment needed. Most of it was acres of low canvas tents and ISO containers.

Extract from Anna’s Afghanistan’s diary…

Once out of Bastion I was struck by the raw Beauty of Afghanistan, I was moved around to different Forward Operation Bases. One evening I arrived with the Highlanders their FOB perched on the top of an escarpment, in place of centuries of ancient Afghan forts, but more recently a Russian one. Flying over the Helmand river with its thin green banks snaking through the harsh desert i watched the vast orange sun slip behind the ever present majestic pink mountains.

I was lucky enough to go out on 3 foot patrols, weapons being cocked as each man past through the gate, a frisson of fear, with freedom comes danger. Memories of the soldiers following closely in each others footsteps, slipping over on the rough ground, weaving through marijuana fields, the absolute poverty, the haunting call to prayer ringing across the desert, the old, war weary faces of the beautiful children and looks of disdain I was given by the elders for being a woman. The soldiers looking at the stars connecting with their loved ones, imagining them doing the same.

Being non military I was bound to make mistakes, once on my way back from another outpost, I inadvertently got off a chinook at the first stop, wandering into the ops room I found a rather startled young captain. I don't think I am in Bastion? No, this is Lash gagah de righ, the furthest outpost in Helmand ...did you not notice there was no Tarmac or even that there are only 10 tents here and it is not the size of reading? Feeling a bit of an idiot I said, Oh well chinooks are like buses, I shall just hop on the next one. Yes, they are sort of like buses, the next one is coming in 2 days..