Untitled (mask), Goncalo Mabunda, 2017, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Art of Africa and the Americas
assembly of rifle butts, machine gun magazines, shell casings, a hammer, and other weaponry and utilitarian objects crating abstracted face; two shell casings within metal O-rings create eyes; offset cylinder mouth Mia prohibits visitors from bringing guns and other weapons into the museum, but the weapons in this artwork are not lethal. Mozambican artist Gonçalo Mabunda takes the Biblical injunction “They shall hammer their swords into ploughshares” quite literally. He makes his art with parts of decommissioned and deactivated military equipment left behind in his country, which suffered through a civil war from 1977 to 1992. His "Mask" is built around gun butts, rifle chargers, and a hammer, with the eyes made from bullets. The weapons carry strong political connotations, and the end product invites viewers to reflect on the transformative power of art. Size: 29 1/4 × 12 1/4 × 6 1/2 in. (74.3 × 31.12 × 16.51 cm) Medium: Metal, wood, mixed media
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/127700/
