Imagine being a child of war, afraid to play outside because the rebels might pick you up in a sweep of able-bodied children. If you could shoot a gun, you could be a commando.

If you are Nicaraguan abstract artist Franck de Las Mercedes, you don’t need to use your imagination. You lived it. You experienced the Sandinistas, the Contras, and the war that caused your family to flee. And it leaves its imprint on your view of life, and eventually, your art.

Fast forward 30 years, and it isn’t surprising that de Las Mercedes is gaining a reputation for his Priority Box art project, a peace initiative that began in 2006. It was a post office worker who pointed out to de Las Mercedes that the priority boxes he used to ship his eBay portraits were—in and of themselves—art. The postal worker’s ability to spot art in an everyday object got the artist to experimenting, drawing, and painting on Priority Boxes and including powerful and enigmatic messages such as “Fragile: Contains Peace” and then mailing them off to anyone who requested one.

By 2010, de Las Mercedes had shipped nearly 8,000 boxes worldwide. You can request a box from his website. The artist’s only quid pro quo is that you send a picture back that he can post online.

SoulPancake was able to sit down and chat with de Las Mercedes about his work and inspiration.

SP: Why this art project at this moment in history?
FDLM: I started the project when the war in Iraq was in the headlines. The job of art is to stimulate and start a dialogue. The project became a way to “pay it forward.” It’s a statement for peace. And I’ve noticed that the boxes fill a collective need for folks to connect. It's spiritual in the way it helps people find common ground.

SP: How do people hear about the project?
FDLM: I first posted information on Craigslist. Within a day, I received 100 requests and shut down the page. After that, word-of-mouth and mentions in the Spanish press has kept the project going since 2006. I’ve also used the boxes to teach "art as activism” workshops in schools and arts organizations.

SP: And the response?
FDLM: I enjoy the notes about how the project has impacted the receiver’s life. How it activated him or her to do something. For example, there was a high school where the students created boxes and sent them to troops in Iraq.

SP: What do you think your work tells people about your soul?
FDLM: My soul is good. It’s open. I get contacted by all types of people, Catholics, Muslims, atheists. Something about the work connects to people.

SP: What is spirituality to you?
FDLM: Art is my spirituality. I was raised as a Catholic and Baptist but currently am not practicing anything. I shy away from organized religion. God isn’t a being but an obscure abstract force. The Bible talks about the “spirit” that is inside of you. The Priority Box project is similar. I ask people to question what’s in the box. It’s the same thing as questioning what’s inside of you.

SP: What piece of art most influences your creativity?
FDLM: I’m inspired by Jackson Pollock’s “Autumn Rhythm.” I first saw it at a time when I was questioning God, religion, and self. Art was my savior. There is a physical feeling that’s released when I’m creating art. It feeds my soul.

SP: What else informs your art?
FDLM: I’ve had to understand loss in many aspects of life, not just death. I think there is a saying: “No one learns from happy moments.” For instance, my mother was a teacher in Nicaragua who was outspoken against the government. She fled in 1982. My parents were divorced, so my sister and I lived with my grandmother. It wasn’t until 1985 that my mother, sister, and I were reunited. That separation taught me a lot about handling loss.

SP: What is art about for you?
FDLM: Deep down inside everyone is a child saying, "Look at me.” Every single person should be acknowledged, no matter what you do. In contrast, art isn’t about saying “Look at me,” but rather it's about saying, “I was here.”

If you received a box labeled “Handle With Care: Contains Peace," what would you do with it? Give it away? Toss it? Sell it?