I loved this;

I heard one of the artists (Pedro Reyes)  talking about this on Radio 4’s Midweek. He described how the guns were seized in some of Mexico’s cities, where the murder rate has sky rocketed.

Previously the group had taken 1527 guns, melted them down into 1527 shovels, and used these to plant 1527 trees.

However, this time they wanted the guns to still be recognisable so that the darkness of their past was not forgotten.

And I suppose to make it clear that we are not ready to beat our swords into ploughshares.

Reyes talked about the nature of guns- the way they are flooding on to the market at the rate of hundreds of thousands every day- perhaps bought as playthings by those (particularly in North America) who fetishize the gun. He pointed out that the things about guns is that they are not like computers or other consumable goods- they do not wear out and need replacing after a couple of years. Virtually any gun ever made is still capable of killing someone.

According to Reyes, the music made on these guns (many of which have taken lives) is like some kind of exorcism, or a requiem.

Hear for yourself;