Formerly based in Chicago, photographer Francois Robert has used real human bones in his new series of artworks to illustrate the consequences of war.

Robert spends hours arranging the bones into shapes that are five to six feet wide to create surreal images associated with war, before photographing them.

According to Robert, he uses the human skeleton as it is by itself a powerful symbol that signifies the remains of life. (via INSPIRE FUSION)

This series of photos is titled Stop the Violence
Haltingly compelling imagery ... yes, creepy. Tap title to link more examples of his work ... It links the blog Accidental Mysteries post 9 October 2009 ... an interview with Francois Robert and shows several examples from the set.
I chose to post the cross because I think religion ... This symbol of religion, a cross ... The Cross ... Is a symbol for a complex and intensely personal story ... and a larger story as well, it encompasses all humanity. I like the starkness, the overt simplicity of these images, and the multifaceted experience of an existence. I like that something is communicated (even though manipulated) by these bones which were once the framework for the structure which housed a soul. I have never appreciated "bone art" before. It has seemed to me, disrespectful to the life lived around them ... like a trophy ... like consumptive dominance. I don't sense that dynamic here.

War has other consequences too ... Those aren't pictured in skeletal remains. I have a note on that somewhere which seems appropriate here ...

Perhaps I did not change the world. Perhaps there is still injustice in the world. But there will be a child who will live because men left the security they enjoyed in their home country to come to his. And this child will learn in the new schools that have been built. He will walk his streets not worried about whether or not his leader’s henchmen are going to come and kidnap him. He will grow into a fine man who will pursue every opportunity his heart could desire. He will have the gift of freedom, which I have enjoyed for so long. If my life buys the safety of a child who will one day change this world, then I know that it was all worth it.—-Sgt. William Stacey as written in a letter that was given to his family after he died from an IED in Afghanistan

Sgt. Stacey, 23, died in Afganistan 31 January 2012

"He commanded the squad I was embedded with when I ended up in my first firefight, and it was plainer than anything that he kept the men under his command alive. ... He is the sort of man you would want commanding your troops, analyzing a million pieces of data to save a few extra lives. ...

"He helped turn Now Zad from a scarred hell to a place where hundreds of children can walk to school every day. He brought sanity and compassion to a place sorely in need of both. ... " ~ Lawrence Dabney, a war correspondent/humanitarian attorney, embedded in Sgt. Stacey's squad ... noted in the obit which was found online.

A sacrifice. Another consequence of war. A gift sent ahead towards what might be. This is an honorable life.