ERBIL — A young policeman from the Kurdistan Region has used more than 1,500 bullet shells, fired by Kurdistan Peshmerga forces in their battle against the Islamic State (IS), to create an artistic tableau of Kurdistan map.
"Earlier I wrote with bullet shells but after considering that Peshmerga is demarking Kurdistan's borders with their own blood, I decided to make the Kurdistan map with the shells and dedicate it to Peshmerga and Kurdistan's people," said Hiwa Hatam Taqtaqi, 32, a painter and calligrapher.
The shells of various bullets as Kalashnikov and BKC were inserted into a board of dried industrial foam for creating the 1.2 meter map.
"I could turn what was on my mind into reality," said Taqtaqi, who served in Peshmerga ranks for ten years and is now a police spokesperson.
Taqtaqi said he has made two such tableaus. He has dedicated one to Kurdistan Region's President Masoud Barzani and kept the other one for himself.
He said he will showcase his tableau in an art gallery soon, where he will also exhibit more of his bullet shell art pieces.