The artist
Bran
Symondson.
A former soldier who served in Afghanistan, Bran takes the world’s most iconic weapon and turns it into an object of beauty and intrigue — butterflies, currency and hand-blown glass bullets where the violence used to be.
“The metamorphosis of butterflies brings about a remarkable transformation, turning a once destructive tool into Mother Nature’s playground.”
— Bran Symondson
On tour with special forces in Afghanistan, Bran watched Afghan soldiers and police decorate their AK-47s with flowers and stickers. It gave him the idea that defines his work: to treat the weapon as a blank canvas and disarm it — turning a symbol of fear and loathing into an object of beauty and intrigue.
His background in 1990s documentary photography still shapes every piece: not just what the eye sees, but the story behind it. His work has been shown at House of Fine Art in Mayfair and is held in collections worldwide.
In 2025 his KS1 sculpture sold at auction for £1,000,000, with every penny going to UK military charities. His exhibition Hollywood Reloaded was the final project the photographer Terry O’Neill collaborated on before his passing.
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Where it began
Afghanistan photography
Before the sculptures, there was the camera. Bran’s intimate photographs of the Afghan National Police — taken during his time in Afghanistan — are the body of work that started his career as an artist.
Explore the collection
Original sculptures, signed limited editions and framed works.