noah scalin conceptualizes the anatomy of war with sculptural intestine weapons

noah scalin conceptualizes the anatomy of war with sculptural intestine weapons
all images courtesy of noah scalin

while a soldier in the russian army, mikhail kalashnikov created the AK-47, but his relationship to the weapon he designed remained ambivalent throughout his life. ‘I’m proud of my invention,’ he once said. ‘but I’m sad that it is used by terrorists. I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower.’

as an artistic effort to bring the discussion of war to a human level rather than a political one, noah scalin has realized the ‘anatomy of war’ series — a pair of sculptural weapons that refer to the anatomical systems of the body. made from polymer clay, acrylic and enamel, the two guns have been dissected in half to reveal a remarkably human set of internal organs, rather than the cold steel and bullets normally found within. tangled intestines and large fleshy masses protrude, pierce and peel away from the sculptural frame, forming realistic yet surreal sculptural interpretations of these traditional weapons. acting as a physical extension of the body of the user, the arms become as fragile as the lives that they can potentially take.

the smith & wesson variation is made from polymer clay, acrylic and enamel

‘it’s impossible to separate the violence of the ongoing wars around the globe from the weapons that fuel them specifically the countless numbers of small arms that are endlessly in circulation passing hand-to-hand,’ scalin says. too often the discussion around guns in america gets wrapped up in emotional terms around the 2nd amendment. the idea behind the anatomy of war series is to bring the discussion back to the individual human level.’

rather than bullets and steel, the inside of the weapons reveal internal body parts