{ This earth, this realm } ~ Brexit

Britain held their Referendum and voted to leave the European Union and many in the UK and beyond are reeling from the result.
Scots in particular are dismayed.  They voted 62% to Remain in the EU two short years removed from their Referendum on leaving the UK.  It was a close vote then, with many voting 'No' primarily because Cameron and others in England had warned a 'Yes' vote meant loss of their status within the EU.  A bitter irony now.  The Brexit vote will almost certainly trigger another Referendum in Scotland and the 'No' vote will find it especially difficult now.
But Scots are not the only casualties in the wake of Brexit.  David Cameron immediately resigned.  It will be hard to see many who will shed a tear for him or his party.  Having played footsie with the xenophobes as part of their 'core' vote, Cameron thought he could safely hold a Referendum and placate the core but not seriously worry about a 'Leave' result.  He and his party have grossly miscalculated.  Waiting in the wings, Boris Johnson, who panders to the same mob.  Keep Calm and Carry On? 

Implications outside the UK were obvious.  What happens to the 'Great Experiment' as the Euro has come to be known?  As world stock markets tumble, many Euro leaders and opponents with agendas were quick to jump in front of the microphones and push for reforms in the wake of Brexit.  It is highly likely that opening the European Union at this stage may not scupper the entire Union completely. 

Americans see the Brexit result with worrying implications for their own coming election in the Fall.  Trump has, like Cameron and Johnson, rode a wave of resentment, fear, and xenophobia towards the White House. Many in America did not take his candidacy seriously at first, just as many in Britain did not see the 'Leave' campaign as a legitimate threat, until it was.  You hear almost the exact same reassurances now as then - that given the stakes and standing in the box Britons/Americans will 'smarten up'.

A spot illustration I did some years ago on the EU in 2009 for the CMAJ.  I used some Classical sculpture as reference for the bust.  Classicism, the seminal influence on Western thought, that we are 'rational' beings who can be motivated by logic and knowledge is reeling right now.  EU stars circle around the head as symbolic of that confusion and uncertainty.
Black chinese ink and inkstone, sponge brushes, and calligraphic brushes, pen and ink.