'Graffiti Wall', Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1973

Oil on board, by Ralph Lillford, 1973.

During 'the Troubles', Belfast street walls became a place for rival sectarian graffiti, often painted layer upon layer. A form of psychological warfare which also demonstrated control of terrain, the slogans were often directed at the British Army, exhorting them to 'go home', or else boasted of paramilitary loyalties, such as 'Provos Rule'. Periodically the Army would drive past these walls and throw paint bombs at the slogans.

The soldier wears a fragmentation vest, or flak jacket, over DPM (disruptive pattern material) jacket and trousers. He wears his visor up on his helmet and carries an anti-riot shield.

Between 1971 and 1976, drawn by an interest in the civil conflict, Ralph Lillford made repeated trips to Northern Ireland to draw what he saw in the streets.