In Memory Of Mikhail Kalashnikov: 17 Works Of Art Made From AK-47s

APRussian weapon designer Mikhail Kalashnikov presents his legendary assault rifle to the media while opening the exhibition "Kalashnikov - legend and curse of a weapon" at a weapons museum in Suhl, eastern Germany, in this July 26, 2002, file photo.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK-47 designer who died today, has expressed regret at creating something that causes so much death.

"Whenever I look at TV and I see the weapon I invented to defend my motherland in the hands of these bin Ladens, I ask myself the same question: 'How did it get into their hands?'" Kalashnikov said in 2006.

"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower," he said on a visit to Germany in 2002.

In memory of the self-taught Russian inventor, we are bringing back images of AK-47s that were transformed into works of art for the AKA Peace exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in September.

"Everyone knows the AK-47 and I thought, wouldn't it be great to take this iconic weapon and turn it into a thing of intrigue and art, rather than one of fear," photographer Bran Symondson, who thought of the project after serving in Afghanistan, told BBC.