War-Toys: Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip

WAR-TOYS is a photo essay that uniquely explores the perspectives of children living in war zones using principles of play and art therapy. Girls and boys who have been affected by conflict become art directors for Brian McCarty's narrative photographs of locally available toys, placed and posed against war-torn locations to recreate witnessed events and shared fears.

This first volume chronicles McCarty's collaborations over the course of two years with Israeli and Palestinian children. Working with humanitarian organizations including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and the Israel Trauma Coalition, McCarty gathered children's firsthand accounts in classrooms, clinical settings, and even bomb shelters.

Drawings that the boys and girls created are shown alongside the photographs they inspired, sometimes taken while fighting raged closeby. The resulting series provides powerful context for the children's accounts while documenting the playthings available in each area. These cheap, plastic arsenals mirror what children see everyday - in the news and on the streets.

Introduction in English, Arabic, and Hebrew.