Those shovels don't look like much, but in a previous life, they were guns, and one artist made it is mission to turn them into something more useful.

Mexican Artist Pedro Reyes oversaw the transformation because he wanted to show "how an agent of death can become an agent of life."

His project "Palas por Pistolas," or "Guns Shovels" in English, is just that — turning 1,527 confiscated guns into an equal number of shovel heads. He has said in past interviews that he wants his art to help change culture.

For this project, Reyes went to the deadliest city in Mexico, Culiacán, and asked the people there to exchange guns for certificates they could use towards household appliances or electronics. Then, he melted the weapons down and turned them into shovels to use for planting trees – and growing a brighter future.

It's not the only time Reyes has transformed guns into something else. In his "Imagine" project, he converted them into musical instruments and, along with some friends, performed Rage Against the Machine's "Bullet to the Head" (see that video below).

(WATCH the "Imagine" video and READ more at True Activist) — Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC

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