In 2018, with project Palas por Pistolas, Mexican artist, Pedro Reyes seeks to show “how an agent of death can become an agent of life.”  He has melted 1,527 guns and has turned them into shovels for planting trees.

In Culiacán, Mexico, the city with the highest rate of gun deaths in the nation, many people know the devastating consequences these weapons can contribute to society. That’s where creative activist Pedro Reyes comes in.

Reyes is an inspired artist who likes to focus on the failures of modern culture in a positive light. He doesn’t believe in failure but instead believes that failure is the outcome of a certain perspective.  With this unique perception, he transforms things people see as broken and models them in a new way.

Concerning guns, he felt that something positive could be transformed from their matter, and, therefore, started a campaign asking residents to hand over their guns in exchange for a coupon they could use to buy electronics or household appliances.