An Artist Reimagined Devastating Photos Of Children To Give Them A Life They Deserved

With that in mind, Azerbaijan-based artist Gunduz Aghayev decided to do illustrations about children, condemning those who make them part of their dirty politics.

Gunduz took a collection of iconic images of children that shocked the world and painted them as he would like to see them in his imagination; beautifully capturing the stark contrast between the real world and an ideal world.

A 3-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background, Aylan Kurdi's (actual name Alan Kurdi) image made global headlines after he drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

Photographs of his body were taken by Turkish journalist Nilüfer Demir. Gunduz's illustration sees Alan cheerfully building a sandcastle on the beach, happily patting down the sand.

Kevin Carter's photograph depicted the 1993 famine in Sudan. He committed suicide at the age of 33, on 27 July 1994, Portions of Carter's suicide note read:

"I'm really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist... depressed ... without phone ... money for rent ... money for child support ... money for debts ... money!!! ... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners ... I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."

Taken during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, this picture shows infants being carried away by soldiers. The painter's imagination paints a superman carrying these children while Batman and Spiderman await and Captain America in the background! If only..!

A Japanese boy standing at attention after having brought his dead younger brother to a cremation pyre in Secon World War II, 1945. The painter’s imagination paints a delightful bonding of two brothers on the beach. If only..!

This image of Jewish doctor Janusz Korczak, who chose to die with the children at his orphanage during the Holocaust rather than leave them, was also re-created by Gunduz. The artist's version shows the doctor showing the kids around a Holocaust museum. If only..!

Elmar Sabir oglu Huseynov was an independent Azerbaijani journalist, widely known for his harsh criticism of Azerbaijani authorities. In March 2005, Elamr was gunned down in his apartment building in the capital, Baku.

The painter’s imagination paints a liberal, happy picture of the father-son duo with pen and paper depicting his freedom of writing. If only..!

Tehani (in pink) and Ghada (in green) are two little girls who have been married to these middle-aged men. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. According to Human Rights Watch figures of 2006, 14% girls in Yemen are married by the time they turn 15 and more than 50% before they reach adulthood.

The painter's imagination paints these girls playing in the farm with the men portrayed as nothing more than dummy scarecrows. If only..!

This famous photograph of the wreckage from the Blitz in London during World War II shows a boy pointing to his former room. Gunduz's re-creation sees the little boy standing with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and pointing to the Magic Kingdom - rather than his destroyed home. If only..!

The photograph was taken after a Naplam bomb was dropped on Trang Bang, Vietnam. It made Kim Phuc, the naked girl in middle, a living symbol of the Vietnam war. Photographer Nick Ut, who won the Pulitzer, and her team took the children to the hospital afterwards.

Recently, 'Napalm girl' Kim Phuc went through laser treatment to heal her wounds.