F**klands, 1982

The artist E. J. Peters was well-known in Limerick, where he remained following his art education at the LSA and the St. Joost Academie in The Netherlands. He co-founded the Graphics collective in Limerick, was included in EV+A in 1981 and had his work purchased by the AC/ACE, yet he is little known outside Tipperary, where he was born, and Limerick. As a print maker he worked in screen print and embossed etching and specialised in putting the written word into his art in the form of calligraphy, combining it with images, using a variety of print techniques. He was interested in how words were expressed in different historic cultures, such as Ogham, Hisperic, Bearlaghair na Saor, Bog-Latin, Shelta and Cryptography. Peters also illustrated the work of others, such as the poet John Liddy, and generated his own texts, often with a political intent or an element of self-mockery. His work was exhibited in solo shows at Belltable Gallery, Limerick (1992); Foynes Library, Limerick (1989); St. James Oyster Bar, Edinburgh (1988) and Edinburgh College of Art (1985). Group shows include Friars Gate, Kilmallock (1999); The Muse Gallery, Limerick (1994); the Jo Rain Gallery, Dublin (1994), and Ochtar, a show of eight artists from the Limerick and Mid-West Region at the Hunt Museum, Limerick in 2003.In this witty silkscreen image, Peters plays with the language of the small advertisements so familiar from newspapers and magazines. ‘Cancelled until further notice’ is a tongue in cheek reference to the war over ownership of the Falklands Islands between Britain and Argentina in 1982. It is not clear whether Peters found this ad. and recognized its potential as an artwork, or whether he also invented the text and created his own mocking advertisement. His use of colour is clever and understated, as is his play on the printed word, the red highlighter and the use of pencil as a part of the print itself. There is another print by Peters in the collection.