Abused Ammunition
This glass sculpture gift representing a bullet is meant as a symbol to irradicate weapons in the world. As it is fabricated in glass, it may also suggest how fragile people are when a bullet strikes. In 2017, the artist began this work called “Abused Ammunition” with a connection to the knotted gun sculpture, called “Non-Violence,” by another Swedish artist. Both works are located at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The artist, Mr. Thommy Bremberg, wanted to innovate on this theme of the destroyed or dismantled weapon.
Thommy Bremberg, born 1954, is a Swedish glass artist. His work combines techniques from Swedish glass factories with older methods from Europe. He frequently explores themes of peace, poverty, and global inequality. His artworks can be found in many Swedish Museums and other European cities.
The artist asks,
Mankind doesn’t seem to care
But this bullet is crying.
Because of all the killing
it has to take part in.
This gift was jointly given by the United States of America, represented by Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Senior Advisor for Special Political Affairs, and Sweden, represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden to the United Nations, Ms. Ann Christin Linde, and the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres accepted it. It recognises the work of the United Nations Group of Experts and their efforts to document violations in human rights and international humanitarian law. These experts must possess the highest integrity and professionalism while being a subject-matter expert (SME) working to advance international peace, security and human rights. Both Ms. Zaida Catalán (1980-2017) of Sweden and Mr. Michael J. Sharp (1983-2017) of USA were killed while working as UN experts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Secretary-General said at the presentation, “Their murder ... was an assault on the values of the United Nations – an attack on the mission that countless women and men around the world risk their lives every day to uphold. The Abused Ammunition sculpture honours that mission by imagining the sorrow of inanimate objects – in this case, bullets – over the part they play in death and destruction.”
The parents said of their children, “Their dreams for a peaceful world are stronger and brighter than the guns that killed them.”