Mr. McConnell speaks:
In "Casualties of War" (above), the box is bound open, physically incapable of being closed or forgotten. On the inside, a torn wedding photo is painted red and along is the bottom is placed a row of three red plastic monopoly houses. On the other side is the depiction of a green room with two toy army soldiers sitting on a couch and a row of six green houses align the bottom. The monochrome aspect of each side reveals separate situations, while the houses provide a continuity that suggests a before and after. The division of houses reiterates the separation indicated by the torn photo. The toy soldiers and monopoly pieces show life as a game, whose rules we must learn by comic trial and error. The work suggests that something more is going on than a political war, but can be examined on multiple levels.