Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Big Brother Is Watching”?
Artist Statement
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 300
Summary
Big Brother Is Watching is a 2006 Shepard Fairey screen print, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 300 at 18 x 24 inches. Released October 31, 2006 at an original price of $30, it renders the Orwellian 'Big Brother Is Watching' surveillance theme in Fairey's flat, propaganda-inspired graphic style. The image invokes the watchful-authority motif that runs through Fairey's Big Brother series, using bold typography and iconography to deliver a pointed warning about observation and control.
Why It Matters
Big Brother Is Watching extends one of Fairey's most sustained conceptual threads, the Big Brother surveillance motif that he developed across multiple works from the late 1990s onward. Drawing directly on George Orwell's dystopian imagery, the print transforms a literary warning into a graphic icon about state and corporate observation, a theme that has only grown more resonant in the digital era. By 2006 Fairey had already produced several Big Brother works (a 1999 collage, a 2000 profile, a 2001 sequel), and this print continues that genealogy, making it a meaningful node in one of his signature series. The surveillance subject gives it durable cultural relevance and broad appeal to collectors interested in political and dystopian art, not just Obey specialists. As a first edition of 300 at an accessible $30, it represents the affordable signed-multiple tier. Its strong conceptual lineage and timeless theme make it more than a decorative piece, anchoring it firmly within the propaganda-and-control core of Fairey's project and its pre-Obama era.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals strongly to collectors drawn to Fairey's surveillance and propaganda themes, and to buyers of dystopian or politically pointed art more broadly. Its place within the multi-year Big Brother series makes it especially attractive to collectors assembling a thematic sequence, since it pairs directly with the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2007 Big Brother works. The 18 x 24 inch format frames cleanly and reads as a deliberate statement piece on a wall. As a first edition of 300 originally priced at $30, it sits in an accessible collecting tier. Its timeless surveillance message gives it lasting display relevance, making it a strong choice for a focused political or OBEY-iconography collection.
Historical Context
Released October 31, 2006, this print belongs to Fairey's long-running Big Brother series, which he had been developing since the late 1990s with works including a 1999 collage, a 2000 profile, and a 2001 sequel. It draws explicitly on Orwell's surveillance imagery, a touchstone for Fairey's critique of authority and observation. The work sits in the Posters and Propaganda era, when Obey Giant issued steady signed editions advancing the project's core themes of control and propaganda. Predating his 2008 Obama breakthrough, it reflects the years in which Fairey consolidated his surveillance motif into a recognizable, recurring graphic vocabulary.
FAQ
What does Big Brother Is Watching depict?
It renders the Orwellian 'Big Brother Is Watching' surveillance theme in Shepard Fairey's flat, propaganda-inspired graphic style, delivering a pointed warning about observation and control.
Is it part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Fairey's long-running Big Brother series, which includes a 1999 collage, a 2000 profile, a 2001 sequel, and a 2007 Big Brother City, making it a node in a sustained surveillance theme.
How large is the edition and the print?
It is a first edition of 300 published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches as a screen print, released October 31, 2006 at an original price of $30.
Why does the theme remain relevant?
Its surveillance subject, drawn from Orwell, addresses state and corporate observation, a concern that has only grown in the digital era, giving the print durable cultural resonance beyond Fairey specialists.
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.