An ambigram is a word, art form or other symbolic representation whose elements retain meaning when viewed or interpreted from a different direction, perspective or orientation. The meaning of the ambigram may either change, or remain the same, when viewed or interpreted from different perspectives.

This passion project started out as just the ambigram and quickly grew to include the playing card below. The simple nature of a modern playing card means that you look at it from either side and it continues to have meaning and power from both sides, this seemed the perfect format to expand upon this particular ambigram.

Playing cards can be dated back to the 9th Century AD in China. From there, they spread to Persia, Pakistan and Arabia and by the 14th century had spread throughout Europe in various forms and designs. Once the cards became pervasive in Europe, new decks were created to reflect the ruling parties of the times and regions, and in the 1800's, reversible court cards were added to the decks. 

For this project I loved the connection between politics and games of chance. There are various levels of risk associated with each game you play and within it, each hand. The player (or voter), must determine what an acceptable level of risk is with each hand and each card. And of course, the double-entendre of the "trump card" was something I just couldn't pass up.

I wanted to blend American and Russian iconography and patterning to create a card that felt like a cohesive whole but also paid tribute to both cultures. I chose to blend diamonds and stars as the "suit" to emphasize the monetary connections that are being uncovered between these two rulers, and the patriotic symbolism that joins the two countries together. 

The King of Hearts is often called the Suicide King. From about 1800 onward, the King is most often shown holding a sword which disappears behind the King's head. In most games this card is also considered the highest ranking card in the deck. These two bits of lore were too good to pass up, so I pulled in imagery from the Presidential Seal (one of the arrows held in the claw of the eagle), and the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire (the scepter held by the double-headed eagle) to create my own set of 'Suicide Kings'.