Artwork Description
Obey Icon VSE #12 HPM Stencil Spray Paint Original by Shepard Fairey x Ernesto Yerena Montejano x Hecho Con Ganas x Obey Hand-Painted Multiple Unique Graffiti Street Artist Modern Pop Art on 100% Cotton Rag Fine Art Paper Framed.
2022 Signed & Numbered Edition #12 HPM Unique Original Spray Paint Artwork Size 20.5x26.5 VSE- Variable Stencil Edition Custom Mated and Framed
"The "OBEY Icon" (Variable Stencil Edition) is a collaboration produced with my good friend and former co-worker Ernesto Yerena. Each piece is a stencil painting with unique variations in background painting and relief texture created with a thick application of acrylic medium through pattern stencils. The Obey Icon face evolved at the end of 1995 out of the desire to move further away from the association with Andre the Giant and toward a more streamlined and universal "Big Brother" (as in George Orwell's 1984) image." –Shepard Fairey
Obey Icon VSE #12: Shepard Fairey and the Evolution of Surveillance Imagery in Street Pop Art
Obey Icon VSE #12 represents a critical moment in the visual trajectory of Shepard Fairey, created in collaboration with artist Ernesto Yerena Montejano in 2022. This edition—part of the Variable Stencil Edition (VSE) series—is a 20.5 x 26.5 inch original spray paint piece on 100% cotton rag fine art paper. Signed and numbered, each print is unique, layered with hand-applied stencil work and spray-painted backgrounds. This version, labeled HPM #12, builds upon Fairey’s now-iconic Obey face by incorporating organic floral motifs, distressed textures, and a visually assertive red OBEY logo near the bottom. The central figure is the evolved version of Fairey’s original Andre the Giant icon, streamlined into a symbol with ambiguous power. As Fairey moved away from direct association with celebrity and toward ideological critique, this face became a representation of omnipresent authority. Influenced by George Orwell’s concept of Big Brother, the image no longer functions as parody—it has become an emblem of anonymous control and propaganda. The stencil format reinforces its reproducibility, aligning it with graffiti’s tradition of mass visual intervention while also preserving the aesthetic refinement found in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork.
Stencil Method as Commentary on Repetition and Power
The hand-painted stencil technique used in Obey Icon VSE #12 is a deliberate visual language in itself. Fairey and Yerena build each work with layers of patterned textures and colored washes beneath the stark black facial features. These underlayers—often containing floral, ornamental, or textile-like patterns—soften the image’s authoritarian undertones while introducing visual contradiction. The face is harsh and emotionless, but the background is rich with cultural detail, especially in Yerena’s contributions which often draw on Mexican-American visual traditions. This clash reinforces the tension between systemic control and grassroots creativity. Spray paint drips, stencil misalignments, and layering imperfections are retained as aesthetic decisions rather than errors. These marks echo the history of street-based image-making where precision is often sacrificed for immediacy and message. Yet within this edition, those street elements are placed within the polished context of fine art materials—cotton rag paper, archival spray mediums, and custom framing. That duality plays with the boundaries between institutional art and insurgent expression.
Collaborative Resistance and the Role of the Icon
The collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena adds depth to the cultural subtext of Obey Icon VSE #12. Yerena’s Hecho Con Ganas movement is rooted in Chicano identity, social activism, and visual empowerment. The shared visual territory between Fairey and Yerena in this work situates the Obey face not just as a commentary on media and control, but as a multicultural symbol—one that can carry meaning in spaces impacted by surveillance, displacement, and systemic inequality. The image does not demand literal interpretation. Its power lies in its ambiguity. It recalls propaganda posters, corporate logos, revolutionary iconography, and even police sketches. Viewers project meaning onto it, shaped by their experiences with authority and imagery. In that way, the Obey face becomes a mirror of the visual systems that govern daily life—branding, ideology, control. Its framing and repetition across cities and galleries alike challenge the idea that art is separated from power. Obey Icon VSE #12 carries forward the legacy of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork by balancing aesthetic force with conceptual weight. It refuses to choose between rebellion and refinement. The image stares back, unchanged and unblinking, forcing a question: Is this face watching us—or are we the ones obeying its silent command?
