Art Works > Paper Kingdoms. Gerry Gleason. 2012. Selected mixed media works on paper 2009.

In medieval European art there was a long tradition of the ship of fools, Durer used it in a series of his woodcuts. I have tried to use this symbolic image, to explain the almost financial collapse of the worlds banking system.The crest on the bow of the boat is the image of Agamemnon, who led the invasion fleet to Troy. His victory and spoils were short lived, on his return he was murdered, partly for sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia during the campaign for fair winds. In the image the tiller is maned by a blindfolded leader, the occupants clutch their bags of gold, with trillions stuck in their bowler hats, unaware they are on the rocks. The Sub Prime Mortgage House steering the boat.