All that glitters (coat of arms of the City of London) 239 x 266cm.  All photos this page Michael Franke, 2004

Commissioned by The Drawing Room, London, 2004

"...But emblems disclose something else equally sickening about state power. In his view that war is natural to humans 'when there is no visible Power to keep them in awe,' the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes endorsed the mystificatory role emblems play in commanding obedience on the part of 'the people' precisely because most of us neither understand their meaning nor pay them much attention." - Kobena Mercer, 2011

Left - Grin and bear it, 240 x 202cm.  Right -Veni, Vidi, Vici, 214 x 244cm (coats of arms of the Queen).  Below - detail of All that glitters.