In 2008 I was invited to create a piece for the exhibition War, Madness, and Delusion. I have never been to war. For me war is a mediated abstraction. I could not legitimately depict war because I have not lived it. A man (my surrogate)--detached and resigned—can only contemplate war; peace and war are in a state of tension. He cradles a bowl of oil (causes of war) and above his head is an exploding ball of GI Joes (a popular childhood toy). Death, and inevitable consequence of war, is equally an abstraction for the living, so the meditation could be as much on my own death as that of another.