About the artwork
The work presents a stylized portrait—an iconic depiction of Obey Giant’s face—composed of vertical lines evoking streams of digital data. These lines appear to represent a form of decoding, in which information emerges and breaks apart, symbolizing both the creation and the disintegration of truth in a world saturated by media and disinformation. At the bottom of the work is the inscription “Decoding Disinformation Since 1989,” a direct reference to Fairey’s artistic commitment, which began in 1989 with his Obey Giant campaign. Through this work, Shepard Fairey invites viewers to reflect on the manipulation of information in the digital age.
Expert opinion
This work is part of Fairey’s ongoing commitment to critiquing power structures and the media, while highlighting our collective responsibility to “decode” information and remain vigilant against misinformation.
About the artist
American artist, born in 1970. Lives and works in Los Angeles (USA). Muralist, illustrator and silkscreen artist, Shepard Fairey (Obey) is one of the most influential figures in urban art. Influenced by Andy Warhol, Barbara Kruger and Diego Rivera, he is best known for the HOPE portrait of Barack Obama he created for his presidential campaign in 2008, which has since been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery (Washington, USA). Following the attacks in France on November 13, 2015, Shepard Fairey created a Marianne with the motto "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité", a work that has now become a national symbol and is on display at the Élysée Palace. In 2019, he will create his hundredth fresco at Place Igor Stravinsky in Paris, next to the Centre Pompidou. Internationally renowned, Shepard Fairey can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian (Washington, USA), the Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK). He has also exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Fondation Cartier for the "Né dans la rue - Graffiti" exhibition in 2009, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (USA), where his retrospective "Supply & Demand" was organized in 2009.
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