连年战火不断的伊拉克最不缺的估计就是武器残骸了。从去年起，伊拉克巴格达大学工艺美术学院的学生开始利用这些武器残骸制作各类艺术品，希望以此让全世界看到他们正在努力用艺术之美取代满眼的战争创伤。他们的口号是：告别战争。伊拉克未爆地雷及弹药清理组织的负责人表示，看着具有破坏性的武器变身为展现自由和美的艺术品是一件很美好的事情。

An image of Egyptian queen Nefertiti is carved on a rifle butt¹ from destroyed weapons by the Iraqi Mine/Unexploded Ordnance² (UXO) Clearance³ Organisation⁴ in Baghdad January 14, 2009.

A dragonfly fashioned from a machine gun barrel and a rifle butt carved into the portrait of an ancient Egyptian queen are just a few of the works Iraqi artists are making from weapons of war.

Graduates of Baghdad University's College of Fine Arts say the project they started late last year takes objects that have brought devastation⁵ to Iraq and uses them to create instead.

"It's a message from Baghdad to the world: we are transforming pieces of destruction into pieces of art," said sculptor⁶ Haider Muwafaq, laying down a blow torch he used to turn steel bars into an abstract model of an old Baghdad neighborhood.

The artists are unlikely to run out of materials. Iraq is one of the region's most militarized nations, awash with old weapons from Saddam Hussein's regime and new ones smuggled⁷ in by insurgents⁸ and militiamen.

Each day, the Iraqi Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Organization (IMCO) destroys some 800 weapons, including AK-47 rifles, old-style British Bren guns, mortar⁹ rounds and belt-fed machine guns collected by U.S. forces during raids.

"It's a pioneering idea," said IMCO boss Zahim Jihad Muttar. "To see weapons which were a means to destroy and slaughter¹⁰ be used to depict¹¹ life and freedom: this is a beautiful thing."

At a small workshop in central Baghdad, a life-sized statue of a cowboy cobbled together out of rocket launcher parts and holding real pistols dominates the scene.

Next to him is a scrap¹² metal fish, a very real-looking robot and a figurine of an acrobat¹³ swinging off the recoil¹⁴ spring from inside an AK-47.

The display also includes a version of the iconic bust¹⁵ of queen Nefertiti, wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten who was known for her beauty, carved into a rifle butt. The wider end of its triangular¹⁶ shape forms her lavish¹⁷ headdress.

The group of artists and IMCO will open a gallery to the public in April. Cash from sales will go to orphanages¹⁸ keeping children who have been wounded by bombs or landmines¹⁹, they said.

"Our slogan is: 'Farewell to Arms'," said Ali Hameed, putting the finishing touches to a sculpture of a motorbike.