Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes wants to create “a global consciousness about arms trafficking” with his project to make musical instruments out of guns seized by the army and police in the violent areas of northern Mexico.
So far, he has already transformed many weapons into instruments like marimbas and cymbals, which have been used in various artistic performances, including one at a gallery in London.
“It occurred to me to make musical instruments, because music is the opposite of weapons,” Reyes said.
His project is titled “Disarm” and he was able to choose material from thousands of guns seized in Ciudad Juárez, considered to be one of the most violent cities in the world, where drug traffickers and kidnappers have operated for years.
“It’s important to consider that many lives were taken with these weapons,” Reyes said, adding that he was doing something like exorcism.
