Sculptor Petros Eftstathiadiadis makes these “pacifist bombs” as a commentary on the Greek political/economic situation, constructing them from materials chosen to seem absurd, playful and harmless. Despite that, a few of these look somewhat alarming to me, possibly because of
Eftstathiadiadis’s (admirable) lack of knowledge about antipersonnel weaponry — the soap immediately makes me think of jellied gasoline, for example.
Eftstathiadiadis doesn’t leave them on city streets or anything — he makes and photographs them in private; presumably they end up in galleries or collections afterward. They must be a lot of fun to ship, though.
The bombs I create (and then photograph) are harmless and absurd. They are made out of soap, flowers, light bulbs or sponges. In fact, my bombs are made only to undermine the concept of bombs. My bombs are like children’s toys — play that refers to war and terror while being perfectly harmless.
There was a period of tension and despair in Greek society as the result of the economic crisis — and in a period of global confusion in general — I thought these bombs could be a playful, powerful and pacific answer to the absurdity we got ourselves into.
Petros Eftstathiadiadis [Lensculture]
(via Crazy Abalone)
