'Civilising Conflict' was made in collaboration with Mario Mukadi Numbi, a Congolese artisan working for the local tourist sculpture market Kalukuluku in Ruashi, D.R. Congo. Malachite is a precious mineral containing a high percentage of copper (up to 57%), which gives it its known dark green colour. Copper is used in large amounts for wiring almost all military equipment. Small arm shell casings are made of brass, a mixture of copper and zinc, and most bullets have a copper ‘jacket’ to keep them from fouling in the gun barrel. Both during WW1 and WW2 the D.R. Congo was a major supplier of copper ore that was shipped to the US to be melted and transformed for the military industrial complex. During the famous Battle of the Somme and the Battle of the Ardennes, 70 to 80% of all the bullets that were fired were made out of copper coming from D.R. Congo. And still today, warfare and mineral extraction go hand in hand where the D.R. Congo is concerned. Malachite, however, is also known for its special ‘healing powers’ in Chakra rituals. It allegedly helps to stimulate the heart and has the extraordinary ability to block negative radiation from electrical equipment. 'Civilising Conflict' consists of a severed finger holding the pin of a hand grenade. It is a ‘creative’ solution to an immediate threat without a permanent resolution.