Today, I had the honour of hosting Karipbek Kuyukov at the Scottish Parliament to unveil his latest artwork.
Karipbek was born in a small village, just 100 km from where the Soviet Union conducted more than 450 nuclear weapons tests. Those tests exposed his parents to radiation and resulted in Karipbek being born without arms. He has overcome many obstacles to become an anti-nuclear weapons activist and renowned artist whose works have been shown around the world.
Today, Karipbek often paints portraits of the victims of nuclear testing with his mouth or feet and, as honorary Ambassador to The ATOM Project, speaks out against nuclear weapons at conferences and events held in such places as the United Nations and the United States Congress.