"When Stokes Stoke, 1947" is inspired by the postcard depicting Stoke-on-Trent during Britain’s postwar coal crisis, a moment when an exceptionally harsh winter exposed the nation’s dependence on fossil fuel.

The industrial skyline, once circulated as an ordinary record of modern life, is transformed into a dense, atmospheric landscape. Overlaid within it is the postcard’s message: a father writing to his daughter in Toronto, offering quiet reassurance amid scarcity and cold. The warmth of the text sits in tension with a scene now read as heavy and foreboding, where comfort and pollution become inseparable. The work reflects on how images travel, accumulate meaning, and shape lived experience. By collapsing front and back, past and present, When Stokes Stoke considers energy not as abstraction, but as something felt in the body and carried across distance—while inviting viewers to question how visual culture, from postcards to AI-generated images, mediates our understanding of progress and prosperity.

Each one of Peter Tertzakian's artworks from this series comes framed, with D-rings and hanging wires for easy installation. Additionally, each piece from this series comes with a reproduction of the postcard of inspiration securely placed on the back of the work alongside the label text about the work. For additional information or to inquire about our installation services email [email protected].

*Please note that all works over 30” will not be available for shipping.