Sean Smith ‘Frontlines’ Exhibition – Striking but evasive

The bottom floor of London’s Kings Place complex is where you’ll find the high point of Frontlines, a new exhibition by war photographer Sean Smith. A Lebanese boy sits in a vehicle holding his younger brother, awaiting their opportunity to flee from violence in their village. The boy’s face could not possibly be a more pure expression of fear, until you see his little brother’s eyes. A moment of utmost terror, skilfully captured by an exceptional photographer.

Smith, who has won much acclaim for his work for the Guardian and Observer opens the exhibition this Friday to launch a book of his last decade of work. Striking images of conflict zones thread in and out of the Kings Place Gallery and throughout two floors of the complex, displaying his observations from Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo and Lebanon. He shows us civilians whose lives have been destroyed, insurgents who will fight no more and the tedium of life as a soldier. However, for all of Smith’s courage in capturing the reality of war, his story of humanity misses vital components.

Image: Anbar Province, Iraq, 2005, © Sean Smith

While suffering is a theme that applies to both civilians and militia throughout the exhibition, allied soldiers are portrayed without emotion. Captions read, “US and Iraqi army personnel carry out early morning raid”, “US soldiers conducting house-to-house searches, “British soldier from the Mercian regiment mentoring an Afghan soldier” – words that display as much of the soldiers’ emotions as their accompanying photographs.

While browsing the collection it is difficult enough to imagine what those troops must be feeling let alone attempting to empathise with their situation. These soldiers suffer pain and loss, they suffer mortal injuries, they make mistakes, but the exhibition depicts them as clinical and detached from the destruction around them.

With the political baggage carried by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars  - already controversial via document leaks and the initial justifications for invasion – Smith has the opportunity to make a statement about the reality of the human cost of the operations. It is a disappointment that the collection of his work on display lacks the impact it could have had.

Exhibition information here.

Opening Times:
Aug 5-Sep 30
Kings Place Gallery / Bookshop / Balcony North Gallery:
Monday – Friday 10 am – 6 pm Saturday – Sunday 12 am – 6 pm
Admission free

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