Sculptors strike blow for peace

He looks happy enough blowing on his saxophone. But a closer look reveals something unsettling about this image: Goncalo Mabunda's instrument is largely made from an AK47 assault rifle.

The gun was among 200,000 weapons taken out of circulation in Mozambique at the end of the country's civil war 10 years ago, collected under a project which offered to exchange weapons for useful tools and bicycles.

Many were given to Mozambican artists who created extraordinary - and often disturbing - sculptures from them.

Thirty of these sculptures, including representations of birds, animals, musical instruments and human figures, are to go on show at the Oxo Gallery on the South Bank for two weeks from this Friday.

Graca Machel, former Mozambican first lady and now the wife of Nelson Mandela, is the patron of the exhibition, which is backed by Christian Aid. She said an armed Mozambique could not be healed: "Who is it armed against? Against society itself."

Humberto Delgado, one of the artists, said: "I was transforming weapons into something totally different, with a positive significance."

The exhibition culminates in an auction on 31 January.

Admission: Free
Open: Mon-Sun 11am-6pm
Where: thegallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, Southbank, SE1
Tube/Train: Waterloo
Tel: 020 7401 2255
Auction price estimates: £120-£1000