"Whenever I look at TV and I see the weapon I invented to defend my motherland in the hands of these bin Ladens, I ask myself the same question: 'How did it get into their hands?'" Kalashnikov said in 2006.
"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower," he said on a visit to Germany in 2002.
In memory of the self-taught Russian inventor, we are bringing back images of AK-47s that were transformed into works of art for the AKA Peace exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in September.
"Everyone knows the AK-47 and I thought, wouldn't it be great to take this iconic weapon and turn it into a thing of intrigue and art, rather than one of fear," photographer Bran Symondson, who thought of the project after serving in Afghanistan, told BBC.