( CNN ) -- Manfred Zbrzezny wants to bulk up his arsenal . For the past few years , the founder of the Liberia-based Fyrkuna Metalworks and his team of skilful craftsmen have been collecting weapons scrap -- relics of the West African country 's vicious civil conflict -- for their Arms into Art project . From their open-sided workshop near Monrovia , the capital of Liberia , the artisans expertly cut , melt and weld scrap metals to fashion them into intricate sculptures . In their hands , decommissioned AK-47s , RPG launchers and bazookas are transformed into elaborate candle stands , whimsical lamps and even life-size metal trees . `` What was an instrument of suffering can become something beautiful and useful , '' says Zbrzezny , a German/Italian artistic blacksmith who 's been calling Liberia home since the mid-2000s . Read this : Artist gives trash a second chance . `` I want to do something serene out of all these things that are violent and nasty , '' he adds . `` I prefer doing my pieces a little bit funny or sweet , instead of doing something macabre or rough . '' Remnants of war . For materials , Fyrkuna first relied on the decommissioned instruments of warfare gathered during Liberia 's disarmament process . On some occasions , individuals who 've come to know their work have also brought in discarded guns they 've found for the craftsmen to work with . Zbrzezny , whose team of Liberian workers includes four staff and two trainees , says he is now looking to expand the project and hopefully export of some of his artwork abroad . Read this : Artwork shows conflict in new light . `` I am trying to convince the United Nations mission in Liberia to turn over their weapons scrap to me so I could continue this work , '' he says . 'Healing process ' Liberia , the oldest republic in Africa , descended into darkness in 1989 , mired in the grip of a brutal civil war that shattered much of its economy and infrastructure . Read this : Fixing Liberia 's water crisis . Although the fighting came to an end in 2003 , leaving an estimated 250,000 people dead and thousands more displaced , many in Liberia still bear the deep scars of years of conflict . `` There 's nobody who was n't affected by the war , '' says Zbrzezny , who first traveled to Liberia before the end of the conflict in 2003 . He describes Fyrkuna 's work as a way of helping the nation heal its wounds by transforming the destructive devices of its war-torn past into something positive . `` Looking at Arms into Art the majority of people remains thoughtfully silent , '' he says . `` This moment of silence acts like a flashback , a remembering of the war and ... is also an indicator for me that there is a long psychological work to do on the war issue . `` There is still a lot of digestion on that and I hope somehow I 'm part of that . ''
Craftsmen in Liberia transform scrap weapons into artwork . The project is part of a larger effort to help the country recover from years of civil war and economic hardship. Liberia descended into a vicious civil war in 1989 that last for 14 years . Fyrkuna Metalworks say its work is part of the nation 's healing process .