Federico Uribe grew up surrounded by Colombia’s civil war, sometimes called the world’s longest war.
Now a Florida-based artist, his art is inspired by that very same violence.
He takes objects that are usually associated with a particular use and repurposes them into beautiful pieces of art.
The conflict between the Colombian government and the rebel forces caused as many as 6.7 million people to flee their homeland over five long decades, but a newly signed ceasefire may be the beginning of the end, lending Uribe’s work an air of triumph.
Currently on display at Adelson Galleries in New York City, his exhibition consists of animals sculpted with bullets from Colombia.
With so many innocent people injured, killed, and displaced, these bullets are usually associated with sadness and ugliness.
But Uribe didn’t want the deaths of thousands of innocent victims to stand for nothing.
“(Making) beauty out of these testimonies of death, that is what I am trying to do. There is (are) all these ugly memories related to these objects and I am trying to make something that make people find beauty in pain,” he said, according to Euronews.
His art, including a turtle made out of a World War II helmet, will be displayed in the gallery till the end of July.
There are others who, like Uribe, want to repurpose objects associated with violence. Saught is a jewellery company that aims to spread peace through its work. Its collection consists of necklaces, bracelets, and other jewellery created from landmines and unexploded ordnance in post-conflict countries.
Uribe takes this method a step further with his war-themed works. Colombia is a country that has been wracked by violence for decades. Although a ceasefire puts an end to the chaos, scars remain. Uribe's animal pieces are vivid reminders that, if confronted head-on with an open heart, traumas can healed.
To see more images by Federico Uribe, go here.