( CNN ) Every day , images of war and conflict are splashed across our desktops , plastered on our TV screens and scattered through our mobile news feeds . Because of that , one 's response to such imagery often becomes calloused or desensitized . This concept of `` how we digest images of war through mainstream media outlets , '' was what drove photographer Simon Brann Thorpe to begin his project `` Toy Soldiers . '' This idea to create a fresh perspective drove him into the desert of Western Sahara , a long-disputed region of northwestern Africa . Thorpe uses the area 's harsh landscape as a powerful backdrop for soldiers posed as green plastic figurines -- similar to the popular toys that many children play with . The soldiers are with the Polisario Front , an independence movement that has been clashing with Morocco over the region since the mid-1970s . Thorpe said his project enables `` the creation of a visual metaphor from which a viewer develops their own emotional , physical and political response to war and conflict , when faced with the realization that the images do not contain toy soldiers but real soldiers . '' Thorpe 's background was not in photojournalism , but in landscape photography , which lends to his powerful placement of the soldiers in the desert -- not to mention that all the locations chosen are historic locations of battles between Morocco and the Polisario Front . `` The conflict in Western Sahara receives virtually zero coverage despite 2015 being the 40th anniversary of the outbreak of war there , '' Thorpe said . After a ceasefire in 1991 , the people of Western Sahara have been living in a state of non-resolution . The people are split into two camps -- those living in Moroccan-occupied territory , and those in refugee camps in Algeria . Social media . Follow @ CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography . Thorpe had to get clearance to work with the Polisario Front military and also had to be cautious of how many troops he moved about at one time -- otherwise he would have needed permission from the United Nations . He usually worked with about 50 or 60 soldiers at a time . The autumn months did not offer much reprieve from the long hours in the sweltering desert sun . Thorpe would work with the troops ' commander to position the men , then climb atop sandy mountains with his wide-angle lens and capture these striking images . They would work till dusk and then spend the night under the stars . Not only were the soldiers willing participants for this project , but they also helped construct the platforms they stood on . Thorpe said they were made out of old oil drums . After the elaborate five-week production , Thorpe hopes his images will raise questions on `` how images of war ( will ) be consumed in the future with ever-diminishing attention spans and competition for them . '' Simon Brann Thorpe 's `` Toy Soldiers '' book is available for pre-order through Dewi Lewis Publishing . You can follow Thorpe on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook .
Simon Brann Thorpe 's project makes real-life soldiers resemble toy soldiers . He shot the images in Africa , a disputed region of northwestern Western Sahara .