The AK-47 has been given an extreme makeover as part of a new art project in London.
Created by former army reservist Bran Symondson the project sees the deadly weapon painted, decorated and put on display in an attempt to change perceptions about war, violence and peace.
Mr Symondson told Reuters he was inspired to start the project after he traveled to Afghanistan and saw how local soldiers decorated their guns.
'We noticed they (Afghan police) would adorn their AK-47s with flowers, stickers, and I realised it was the only possession in their life really so it was a bit like a teenager would pimp up their car in the UK,' Symondson said.
'A lot of people say 'am I scared of glorifying the AK-47?' But I think the AK-47 is already glorified. I think the strongest message here is to show it can be used for something else visually and mentally.'
He enlisted the help of more than 20 British artists including, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn and the Chapman brothers.
Palestinian artist Laila Shawa told Reuters the rifle was an unusal subject for her.
'I'm very familiar with AK-47s so for me it was not a very strange feeling to carry the gun, but my first question to Bran was 'how many people did this gun kill?',' she told Reuters, standing next to an AK-47 covered in rhinestones and butterflies and with the barrel sprayed gold.
'In the Middle East, with the turmoil that we have, and as a Palestinian in particular, you find yourself at some point in your life having to defend yourself and that's why I know about it,' she added.
Some of the artists confessed to feeling uncomfortable working on weapons once used in battle.
'While cleaning the gun in order to start working on it I went into the barrel of the gun and I found congealed blood and that brought the reality home,' said Shawa.
Another artist Nancy Fout, painted her rifle silver which helped make it look fluffy from a distance and this was a popular piece amongst visitors.
One visitor paid $405 (250 pounds) for one of the rifles.
Artist Charming Baker hoped the whole project would help change people's opinions of the AK47.
'I don't feel like I have this naive idea that a gun is just a weapon of destruction,' he said. 'I'm sure there are guns here that have saved people's lives and their families have been pleased about it. That's the way you use any tool, isn't it?'
The guns will be on display in London's Institute of Contemporary Art before they are sold at auction.
The money raised from the works will be donated to the Peace One Day charity which promotes a global peace and non-violence.
