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Fiel dos Santos
Age: 32
Home: Maputo, Mozambique
Fiel dos Santos grew up surrounded by violence. When he was 15, his own brother was kidnapped by rebels and forced to fight as a child soldier in the Mozambican civil war. But bullets became branches when Fiel became an artist and the 'Tree of Life' sculpture was born.
Filed in: Africa, Peace & Conflict

Sculpting change in Mozambique

The 'Tree of Life' was created in 2004 in Maputo, Mozambique
It was a collaboration between Fiel dos Santos and three other artists: Cristóvão Canhavato (otherwise known as 'Kester'), Hilário Nhatugueja and Adelino Serafim Maté
The sculpture is made of decommissioned weapons from the Mozambican civil war which lasted from 1976 to 1992. It's a product of the Transforming Arms into Tools project (TAE), where arms are swapped for useful objects like farming equipment or sewing machines
The 'Tree of Life' can now be seen in the British Museum

Filed in: Africa, Peace & Conflict

Mozambique

Tree of Life: Mozambique
height: 3m
weight: 0.5 tonnes
types of gun used: AK47, 'Kalashnikov', Walther 42, German MP40, British 4.85mm