Artwork Description
Chaos Mandala 2 Silkscreen Print by Shepard Fairey- OBEY Hand-Pulled on Cream Speckletone Fine Art Paper Limited Edition Artwork Obey Pop Culture Artist.
2025 Signed by Shepard Fairey- OBEY & Numbered Limited Edition of 550 Artwork Size 18x24 Silkscreen Print
"This print merges two seemingly contrasting concepts and aesthetics…chaos and harmony. I have always been fascinated by the cyclical chaos of posters and graffiti accumulating on the streets and then being ripped at by humans and the elements. There is beauty in the layering and in accepting that there are too many variables of push and pull for any of us to control them all." -Shepard Fairey- OBEY
Chaos Mandala 2 by Shepard Fairey - Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork on Paper
Chaos Mandala 2 by Shepard Fairey, released in 2025 as a limited edition silkscreen print of 550 on cream Speckletone fine art paper, stands as a powerful fusion of structure and disorder in contemporary Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork. The piece centers on a mandala form, built from layers of precise symmetry and complex visual balance, erupting from a distressed background of chaotic spray textures, stencil overlays, drips, and fragmented imagery. Fairey, who was born in the United States and remains one of the leading figures in modern street culture, continues to explore themes of order and entropy in the visual fabric of public space through his Obey series. This print, measuring 18 by 24 inches, is both a meditation and a protest, simultaneously aesthetic and confrontational.
Layering Symbolism in Street-Rooted Geometry
Mandala structures have long held associations with spiritual practices, yet in Fairey’s hands, they become emblems of cultural saturation, reassembled from fragments of mass media, signage, protest imagery, and architectural pattern. Chaos Mandala 2 brings heightened clarity to this contradiction, as its meticulously layered central structure radiates through fractured, decayed, and vibrant backgrounds pulled from urban visual language. The use of red, white, and blue combined with distressed textures channels American iconography while destabilizing it through visual noise and unrest. Fairey’s signature star emblem sits at the core, not as a static symbol of authority but as a continuously contested motif—a remnant of branding, protest, and political critique.
Printmaking as Street Extension
Though made for fine art paper, Chaos Mandala 2 reads like an artifact peeled from a building wall or street billboard. The silkscreen process, hand-pulled and layered with care, mirrors the raw techniques of wheatpaste, stencil bombing, and flyer layering found in graffiti zones. The drips and stencil textures appear as if weathered by time and exposure, mimicking the natural degradation of illegal art left to erode in public view. This intentional decay, preserved in ink, anchors the work in a state of visual tension. The handmade quality of the screenprint, including its signed and numbered nature, honors the DIY ethos central to street practice while elevating the piece into a collectible format for both art and graffiti audiences.
Harmony Amidst Urban Breakdown
Shepard Fairey’s exploration of chaos and harmony through the mandala motif reflects his ongoing investigation into urban culture’s layers and ruptures. Chaos Mandala 2 is not an isolated design but a philosophical stance rendered in ink and form. The mandala, historically used to find peace and focus, is now reimagined as a tool to navigate disruption. Through this print, Fairey transforms the ephemerality of city street art into a lasting expression of visual resistance and aesthetic order. The result is a commanding work that embodies the push and pull of contemporary culture through the language of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork.
