Why We Are Fighting 1970

Curator: Marcel Mariën's "Why We Are Fighting" is a peculiar diorama, wouldn't you say? So many figures crammed inside. Editor: It's utter chaos! A miniature battlefield, but instead of dread, I'm strangely amused. What is going on here? Curator: Well, Mariën, a Belgian surrealist, seems to be posing a question rather than making a statement. Observe the bizarre juxtaposition of toy soldiers and everyday objects like glasses and buttons. Editor: It's a critique, surely, of the absurd theater of war? The way we commodify conflict, reducing it to children's games. The scale, the density—it overwhelms. Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe he's laughing at our human tendency to create conflict out of nothing, turning mundane things into weapons and battlegrounds. Editor: Either way, it forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, privilege, and the narratives we construct around violence. Curator: It’s a dark, funny little box. It leaves a lot to ponder. Editor: Yes, that's the unsettling genius of it. You walk away questioning everything you thought you knew about conflict and its underlying causes.