ABOVE: detail of The Tree of Life, built out of decommissioned guns after the Mozambican civil war by Cristovao Canhavato (usually known as Kester), Hilario Nhatugueja, Fiel dos Santos and Adelino Serafim Maté. It is part of the British Museum’s current “Views from Africa” show.

Today The Guardian is running a sort of meta-review of the British Museum’s “Views from Africa” show, written by the museum’s director, Neil MacGregor. He doesn’t spend much time talking about the art itself, but instead waxes on the curious, tortured relationship of England and Africa, the current devastation of parts of the continent, and the role of religion in rebuilding—in some cases building, period—African civil society.

Forming a sort of centrepiece of the show is The Tree of Life, a sculpture made out of thousands of guns left over from the civil war that ravaged Mozambique from 1976 to 1992. It’s a bit of a tired metaphor—swords into plowshares, yadda-yadda—but no less impressive and effective for it. Close up, it’s quite a piece of craftsmanship, as you can see in the museum’s online gallery. The different chunks of the exhibit are on view through most of the summer, and admission is free.

LINK: Guardian Unlimited > Art of Africa