From a set of amateur photographs of US soldiers during the Vietnam War, this photograph forces us to confront our capacity for empathy: Is the soldier acting cavalier about the human consequences of war? Is he engaging in comic relief as a means of escape from the atrocities? Do we feel for him, or feel for the Vietnamese suffering around him? Can we empathize with both at once?

From the exhibition: Where Words Falter: Art and Empathy (July 9 – December 18, 2022)