Edmund Clark: The Mountains of Majeed, Flowers Gallery

Photographer Edumund Clark captures the haunting reality of Western occupation in Afghanistan with a series of concise photographs and picture postcards.
Flowers Gallery exhibition
As the campaign in Afghanistan comes to an end, Clark examines the experience of soldiers and contractors that never experienced the country they were occupying beyond the walls of their compounds. Clark says: “How many tens of thousands of pairs of western eyes have registered the pastoral peace of these mountainscapes? Has anyone considered what they say of the country they are playing a part in occupying?’
From his time in American base, Bagram Airfield, Clark was struck by the limited view of the looming mountains of Hindu Kush, which dominated the landscape, and the army’s understanding of the world beyond their walls.
Inside the base, murals and artworks offered a very different view of Afghanistan. In this exhibition at the Flowers Gallery London, Clark reproduces a series of paintings on the walls of the dining facility by artist Majeed of the lush mountain passes and lakes of the country. As picture postcard replicas, Clark’s works become mementos of an idealised landscape, hinting that these mountains full of rich cultural heritage are beyond Western reach.