A photographer uses toys to reflect children's experiences in war

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/19/ [login to see] /a-photographer-uses-toys-to-reflect-childrens-experiences-in-war
Photographer and visual artist Brian McCarty has had first-hand glimpses of the devastating toll war can have on a person ever since a visit to Croatia in 1996. Seeing the destruction from its war of independence made him think of how his loved ones were affected by an earlier war.

"I had thought about conversations with my father about Vietnam and his experience," McCarty said. "He was extremely reluctant to share anything really in-depth, personal."

Except, that is, when the two were playing with toy soldiers when McCarty was a kid. Then McCarty's father would tell him war stories about his grandfather, who served in World War II.

The memories of those childhood experiences and his time in Croatia gave McCarty an idea.

"I found letters that my father wrote home to my mom from Vietnam, like the first time he was shot at, or the Tet Offensive," McCarty said. "And decided to re-create those moments with a vintage 1960s, off-the-shelf G.I. Joe figure."

McCarty took photos of the scenes he re-created, which soon led to another idea of how he could use his art to help people heal from the horrors of war.