THE work of an artist from York is to be the subject of a BBC documentary for Remembrance Sunday.

Xavier Pick, originally from Fulford, spent six weeks with British and American troops in Iraq as they neared the end of their mission in Basra.

He was embedded with the troops 24 hours a day, and made audio and video diaries and sketches and took photographs of everyday life in the final days of the mission.

He said: “The show is an intimate portrayal of the life in Basra at the end of British control. It really made me realise the amount of hard work the troops do, selflessly and courageously.”

“It also made me realise my own weaknesses, and since returning, I’ve found the story of the good work in Iraq doesn’t get told as often as it should.”

The Radio 4 documentary, In War And Paint: The Diary Of A Modern Day War Artist, is a collection of Xavier’s audio diaries to be broadcast in two parts on Remembrance Sunday this week. Images created by the artist during his time in Iraq will also be displayed on the BBC News website.

Xavier was also given permission to travel and work with British and American troops, and said he was able to illustrate an alternative to the media’s portrayal of the mission because of this.

“I was trying to understand what we were doing for the Iraqi people. It changed the opinion I had towards the armed forces and their work in a controversial campaign, but also to see what the value of producing artwork to make people happy,” said Xavier, who is now based in London.

“I put a lot of the work on display in the base of operations, and there was a strong feeling of optimism among the locals and the armed forces. I have nothing but respect for them, and hope to revisit Iraq, and possibly Afghanistan, in the future.”

• The documentary will be broadcast on Radio 4 immediately after coverage from the Cenotaph, at 11.45am and 2.45pm on Sunday.