Bran Symondson

Bran Symondson is a British contemporary artist, photographer and peace campaigner known for his powerful political sculpture, military art and socially engaged contemporary art. His practice explores conflict, memory, violence and transformation, using familiar objects associated with war to create visually arresting artworks that encourage reflection and dialogue.

Symondson is best known for his distinctive AK-47 art, in which decommissioned rifles are transformed into sculptural objects. His mixed-media works combine military artefacts with butterflies, gold leaf, resin sweets, precious stones, acrylic cabinets and other decorative materials. This striking contrast between brutality and beauty gives the work its signature visual language, while questioning whether an object associated with destruction can communicate peace and renewal.

Symondson’s artistic perspective is rooted in his experience of conflict. He served with the British military and travelled to Afghanistan, later returning as a civilian photographer for The Sunday Times in 2010 to document the Afghan National Police and their daily lives during the war. His photography was presented in the exhibition The Best View of Heaven Is from Hell at Idea Generation Gallery in London. Following this experience, he conceived the AKA Peace project, bringing together 23 contemporary artists to reinterpret decommissioned AK-47 rifles as “weapons of peace”.

Bran Symondson’s contemporary sculptures and conceptual artworks have been shown through international exhibitions, charitable initiatives, museums and auction houses. His work has featured at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and the Royal Armouries in Leeds, where two decommissioned AK-47 sculptures were included in the Re:Loaded exhibition. Recent works presented through The Art to Disarm include Brutal to Beautiful, Lost Innocence, Morpho Origami Classic and Humour & Humility. Through political art, anti-war sculpture and contemporary assemblage, Symondson continues to transform objects of fear into challenging and collectable works of art.