A FORMER child soldier in Sierra Leone who turned to music and photography is the focus of a new exhibition in Bridport.

The exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre features photographs and video from Nathaniel Sesay - known as Mash P - and will be supported by a screening of a BBC documentary about his life.

Born in Taiama, Mash was captured by rebels when he was nine and forced to fight in Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, spending five years in the jungle. After the war, rejected by family, he lived on the streets of Freetown for 12 years using music to explore corruption, his isolation and the stigma of being a child soldier.

Frequently stigmatised because of his past, Mash took up photography in 2018. Alone with his camera and supported by the charity WAYout Arts he began taking photographs on Bume Dirty Box, a huge rubbish dump in Freetown where many families scrape an existence. He followed a young boy called Mamadu who was the same age as Mash was when he was captured by rebels.

These images give an honest portrayal of life on the dump, and Mash’s story demonstrates the power of the arts to transform lives.

Mash has had exhibitions in London, Manchester and in America.

Mash discovered the charity WAYout eight years ago and recorded an album ‘Mr President’, playing a mixture of Afrobeat and dance hall. He has collaborated with Frank Turner and been supported by The Joe Strummer Foundation.

A spokesman for the exhibition said: "His story resonates around the world - like the thousands of similarly brutalised young men, whose bodies survived conflict but whose minds did not. He now has a global talent visa and three-year resident’s permit to study and work in the UK. Mash wants to be accepted for his talent not rejected for his past."

AKA Mash P - A series of photographs by Nathaniel Sesay can be viewed from now until June 18 in the Allsop Gallery at Bridport Arts Centre.