The Sanskrit word Ahimsa, meaning “nonviolence” in the ancient language of Hindu and Buddhist texts, is a principle at the heart of this solo exhibition by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes (b. 1972, Mexico City, Mexico). Through sculptures, installations, inflatables, videos, and community-focused projects, Reyes explores how weapons of death can be transformed into tools for life, protest, and peace.
In the Kaemmer Family Gallery, Reyes presents artworks forged from decommissioned firearms, including playable instruments built from melted and welded gun parts which have been performed by musicians across the globe. Palas por Pistolas (Shovels for Guns) (2006), which consists of 1,527 surrendered guns from the city of Culiacán, Mexico, that were recast as shovels to plant 1,527 trees, is a testament to Reyes’ commitment to poetic and practical action.
The Braucher gallery presents Reyes’ advocacy for global nuclear disarmament. Artists Against the Bomb is an ongoing international initiative that mobilizes artists to create poster graphics in support of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). These works are presented alongside the monumental inflatable Zero Nukes I (2021), a towering mushroom cloud emblazoned with the phrase “ZERO NUCLEAR WEAPONS” in eight languages. The artwork serves here as a call to action and a beacon of collective resistance.
Ahimsa invites visitors to consider the global culture of militarization, the normalization of weapons, and the systems — whether political, economic, or cultural — that allow violence to persist. Just as urgently, Reyes offers pathways toward civic engagement and solidarity. His work calls not only for critique, but for transformation and for the possibility of creative rather than destructive “chain reactions”.
In a moment marked by ongoing gun violence and escalating nuclear tensions, Ahimsa reminds us that silence is complicity, and that artists, citizens, and communities must together demand a safer, more just future.