AK-47 (decommissioned from active service)
Spoils of War (2012), considers the relationship between trade and conflict in a global context. Taking a decommissioned AK-47 that has seen active service, as its subject, Bran first covers it with burnt dollar bills, suggesting dirt and fumes, & global capitalism a toxic fuel that powers this relationship. Bran then swaps out the AK-47’s bullets for commodities, each commodity coming from an area of conflict where the AK-47 is also prevalent. This tactic fails to neutralise the weapon, instead it seems to work to signal the potency and latent power of each commodity. There is also a strongly implied inter-relationship between commodity and gun, both sustaining and both compromising the other in a never ending spiral. It asks the viewer to contemplate how closely bound one is to the other, and perhaps by extension how closely we might be implicated.
Artist : Bran Symondson
Title : Spoils of War (2013)
AK-47 (decommissioned from active service), dollar bills, bullets*
Edition Unique
Display case: handmade in England.
1.2m x 0.3m x 0.6m (dimensions include display case)
* Clear Bullets: handmade and modeled from an AK-47, 7.62 round.
Bullet Fillings:
Opium poppy seeds (brought back from Afghanistan)
Oil
Cocaine
Blood
Religious symbols
Earth
Diamonds (Swarovski crystals)
Gold
Your Name (a real brass blank round, the bullet that has your name on it).
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