Argentine goldsmith creates roses from Falklands war weapons
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Working with precious metals takes time and patience – much like healing the painful wounds of war.
Argentine goldsmith Juan Carlos Pallarols is creating beautiful roses and other pieces of art from bullets, pistols and even parts of airplanes from the Falkland Islands war as a way of promoting peace between his country and Britain. The nations fought a brief but bloody 1982 war after Argentina invaded the South Atlantic archipelago.
The self-proclaimed pacifist is also known for crafting the presidential batons of Argentine presidents and the chalice of Pope Francis. His latest project fuses weapons donated by families of the Argentine and British war dead and is called “two roses for peace.”
“The idea is to transform the material of war into objects of art and peace,” Pallarols told The Associated Press Wednesday at his workshop in Buenos Aires.