In pictures: Artists against the arms trade
The London-based Art The Arms Fair is an artistic movement against the arms trade, timed to coincide with the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) military conference in London.
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Peace Guard II by Shepard Fairey (2016)
The screenprints and stencils of Shepard Fairey are known primarily through work such as Hope, which was used in Barack Obama's 2008 US presidential election campaign. Fairey draws on street culture and graffiti for his work, which often addresses social issues: here, Peace Guard II shows his support for gun control. "I’m not anti-2nd Amendment, I’m pro-common sense,” he said in 2013. “No one needs an assault rifle with a 50 round clip, especially without a background check.” (Shepard Fairey/courtesy of Art The Arms Fair).



Dawn by Saba Jallas (2018) 
The photo collages of Yemeni artist Saba Jallas have come to prominence during the Yemeni war. Here her work Dawn juxtaposes the innocence of a child playing on a swing with the stark brutality of conflict. The result is an unreal yet almost ordinary presentation of everyday life in the Gulf nation (Saba Jallas/courtesy of Art The Arms Fair)



Marble Tub by Yasmine Diaz (2019)
Diaz was born and raised in Chicago to parents who came from the highlands of southern Yemen. Like Jallas, she also makes use of contrast, here mixing the luxury of a bathroom – symbolising class inequalities - with the burnt ruins of Yemen (Yasmine Diaz/courtesy of Art The Arms Fair)

SEE

SOUTH AFRICA ARMS 

PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY