Before They Were Fallen – Significant objects

Before They Were Fallen is a series of photographs and interviews conceived as an exhibition that adds to and questions our traditions of remembrance. It uses photography and testimony to link memory and loss to create a body of work, which pays tribute to the fallen soldiers of Afghanistan.

The still life pictures shown here, explore the power of the ordinary object transformed through the process of grief. The possessions in these photographs have been selected by three families who lost their loved ones in the war, as having special significance to them, revealing how ordinary objects are imbued with extraordinary meaning following the death of a loved one.

The items take on an intense symbolic value but also represent a facet of the soldier behind the uniform. We have a unique insight into both the sacrifice of the soldier and family, by understanding something of their loss.

This project is dedicated to the 453 British soldiers and all those who lost their lives as a result of the war in Afghanistan; as well as the families and loved ones they left behind.