Artist Discusses Gun Violence With Stunning Artworks Of ‘Anatomy Guns’

Artist Noah Scalin has created an amazing series of artworks entitled Anatomy of War that consists of human, ‘anatomically correct’ guns. Scalin’s creations come of a mixture of polymer clay, acrylic and enamel and aim to humanize guns in order to discuss gun violence in a more sensitized and complex way. Anatomy of War provokes the viewer and motivates people to think of all the lives lost by guns, replacing the bullets with human organs.

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According to the artist’s statement: “These guns have been clinically dissected revealing a remarkably human set of internal organs – rather than the cold steel and bullets normally found within. The objects becomes as fragile as the lives that they can potentially take. In addition the gun become a physical extension of the body of the user of the weapon, albeit one with a conspicuously absent brain.

It’s impossible to separate the violence of the ongoing wars around the globe from the weapons that fuel them – specifically the countless numbers of small arms that are endlessly in circulation passing hand-to-hand. However, too often the discussion around guns in America gets wrapped up in emotional terms around the 2nd Amendment. Anatomy of War brings the discussion back to the individual human level.

In constant use since its creation in 1946, it is estimated that there are nearly 100 million AK-47 style assault rifles currently in circulation around the globe. Because of its resilience and ease of use this weapon can be found in the hands of military personnel, terrorists, freedom fighters, and child soldiers alike. It has become an iconic image – a symbol that is found on album covers & jewelry and in photos of the famous & infamous. It’s also the only modern weapon to appear on a national flag (Mozambique).

Mikhail Kalashnikov created the design of the AK-47 while a soldier in the Russian army, but his relationship to the weapon he created remained ambivalent throughout his life. While never outright denouncing it he often made statements that showed his unease with its proliferation, “I’m proud of my invention, but I’m sad that it is used by terrorists. I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower.” And he ultimately reached out to the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church seeking absolution for his contribution to the deaths of untold numbers of people, shortly before his death in 2013 at 94 years old.”