Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Nature Science (Green)”?
Artist Statement
NATURE SCIENCE GREEN Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 200 $30
Summary
Nature Science (Green) is a 2006 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches in an edition of 200. The record lists Gold and Green colorway variants. Combining Fairey's decorative, pattern-driven design with an environmental theme, the print pairs nature-and-science motifs with his ornamental graphic language. Its horizontal format and limited 200-piece run place it among Fairey's mid-2000s editions that bridge his decorative iconography with emerging ecological subject matter.
Why It Matters
Nature Science (Green) is notable as an early signal of the environmental concerns that would become a defining strand of Fairey's later work. The record's secondary theme of environment and climate marks this 2006 print as a precursor to the more developed ecological series Fairey produced in following years, including prints addressing oil, the Arctic, and climate. Here the message arrives through Fairey's decorative, pattern-rich vocabulary rather than confrontational protest imagery, showing how he often folds activist ideas into ornamental design. The edition of 200 is on the smaller side for the period, which generally supports collector interest within his catalog. Offered in two colorways, Gold and Green, it gives collectors a variant to chase and a way to study how Fairey's palette shifts the mood of the same composition. For collectors mapping the evolution of Fairey's environmental commitments, this print is a useful early data point: it shows the theme present in his output well before it dominated his public messaging. Its appeal rests on that thematic lineage and its relatively tight run rather than on overt political confrontation.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors interested in Fairey's environmental thread and those who favor his decorative, pattern-forward designs over his portrait work. The smaller edition of 200 and the two-colorway offering (Gold and Green) give variant-minded collectors something to pursue, whether completing both or choosing a preferred palette. At 18 x 24 inches in horizontal format, it hangs well in living spaces and pairs naturally with Fairey's other ecology-themed prints to build a focused environmental grouping. As an early example of the environmental theme in his catalog, it appeals to collectors who value works that document the development of an artist's recurring concerns rather than only his best-known images.
Historical Context
Nature Science (Green) dates to June 2006 and carries a secondary environment-and-climate theme, placing it among the earlier instances of ecological subject matter in Fairey's editioned output. In the years that followed, environmental messaging grew into a major and recurring focus for Fairey, addressed in later prints on oil, the Arctic, and climate. This 2006 work shows the theme emerging within his decorative design idiom, before it took on the more pointed protest framing of his later period. It belongs to Fairey's productive mid-2000s phase, just before his 2008 mainstream breakout, when he was both expanding the volume of his releases and broadening the range of social and ecological subjects he engaged.
FAQ
What is Nature Science (Green)?
It is a 2006 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches in an edition of 200. It carries an environmental secondary theme and was released in Gold and Green colorways, dated June 5, 2006.
What colorways exist?
The record lists two colorways, Gold and Green. This gives collectors a choice of palette and a variant to pursue if seeking the full pairing of the same composition.
How large is the edition?
It is an edition of 200 screen prints, a relatively small run for Fairey in this period. The recorded release price was 30 dollars.
How does this fit Fairey's environmental work?
The record notes a secondary environment-and-climate theme, marking this 2006 print as an early instance of ecological subject matter that became a major recurring focus in Fairey's later editions.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.