What now seems like a lifetime but is merely a decade ago I sat slumped at my desk, head on arm pushing a pencil round a piece of paper dreaming up ways to kill time and break the chains holding me to my desk, Monday to Friday each day became the same and I was eating my brain.

Then one day whilst dreaming up further ideas in the series of ‘Ways to kill time’ the pencil lines on the pad started to become characters, strange and dysfunctional they formed my dysfunctional world which had no rule. Slowly I figured the pencil could be replaced with a marker pen (the Pentel N50 to be exact) and the paper replaced with cheap vinyl which was acquired from DIY stores, these characters once resigned to a life on paper filed in a folder under ‘Not suitable for visual consumption’ began to have a life of their own; adhered to lamp post and electrical boxes they plotted and linked my route home, one became 10 and slowly 10 became more than I can remember. Each evening and as much of the day as I could rob was spent drawing and cutting out stickers. Stickers became posters, posters became more ambitious and somewhere in between I quit my job or maybe that was I got fired, either way the inevitable had happened. Like a river cuts it’s own path, I’d cut mine.

This family of dysfunctional characters began evolve, they started to satirise and hold to ransom all that fell into their grasp, a welcome jolt of subversion in today’s media-saturated environment, the very same thing I’d grown up on. Bank notes were drawn and printed over and put into circulation for the unsuspecting to receive in their change, billboards taken over with public service announcements. I wanted to encourage people to not just to ‘see’, but to look at what surrounds them and their lives, reflecting our increasingly bizarre popular culture, re-thinking and reworking cultural figures and genres to comment on our ethos of conspicuous consumption. A Pandora’s box of bittersweet delights, sweet and sugary on the surface, but with an unfamiliar, uncomfortable, taste beneath.

This isn’t the beginning, it’s not the end it’s happy never ending.

D*Face

British

Shepard Fairey is an American graphic artist and social activist who is part of the Street Art movement along with other artists including Banksy and Mr.Brainwash. Fairey blurs the boundary between traditional and commercial art through type and image, communicating his brand of social critique via prints, murals, stickers, and posters in public spaces. “Art is not always meant to be decorative or soothing, in fact, it can create uncomfortable conversations and stimulate uncomfortable emotions,” he stated. Born on February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina, Fairey graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in illustration. In 1989 Fairey created the André the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign, featuring a stylized image of the wrestler André the Giant. This project  was the foundation for his seminal Obey series, which helped to push Fairey into the public spotlight. The artist is perhaps best known for his Hope (2008) campaign, which portrays a portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, in red, white, and blue. In 2017, the artist created a series of three posters— featuring portraits of culturally diverse women, again using a red, white, and blue color scheme—in response to the xenophobic rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. Fairey currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Shepard Fairey is an American graphic artist, activist, and pivotal figure in the Street Art movement, celebrated for his bold visual language and politically charged imagery. Alongside artists such as [Banksy](https://fairart.com/artists/banksy/1229) and [Mr Brainwash](https://fairart.com/artists/mr.-brainwash/1274), Fairey helped shift street art into mainstream cultural consciousness through murals, stickers, prints, and public interventions that merge typography, propaganda aesthetics, and social critique. Born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1970, he studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1992. Fairey first gained widespread attention with his 1989 André the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign, which later evolved into his landmark Obey series. This project established the foundation of his visual identity and paved the way for his global influence. He is perhaps best known for Hope (2008), the red, white, and blue portrait of Barack Obama that became an iconic symbol of the presidential campaign and one of the most recognisable political images of the twenty-first century. In 2017, he produced a series of posters featuring diverse women in response to xenophobic rhetoric during the U.S. election cycle. Fairey’s works are held in major institutions including the Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, reflecting the enduring power of his artistic and activist legacy.

## About Shepard Fairey (Obey)

Shepard Fairey’s artistic practice grew out of skateboarding culture, punk design, and DIY creative ethos. After his time at the Rhode Island School of Design, he continued to expand the reach and scale of his work through public space interventions and independent printmaking. His Obey campaign, derived from the André the Giant sticker, explored themes of power, influence, and the psychology of propaganda, encouraging viewers to question authority and examine how imagery shapes public perception.

Throughout his career, Fairey has blended commercial, graphic, and fine art aesthetics, embracing both street-level distribution and gallery exhibition. His posters, murals, and prints circulate widely, often addressing social justice concerns including environmental activism, anti-war sentiment, racial equality, and human rights. Today he lives and works in Los Angeles, where he continues to produce artworks and large-scale public projects that challenge cultural narratives and promote civic engagement.
