What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Cost Of Oil”?

Artist Statement

18 x 24 inch Screen Print Signed Edition of 400.

Summary

Cost Of Oil is a 2008 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches in a signed edition of 400. The record provides only the standard release details, describing it as an 18 x 24 inch signed screen print. Its title points to the environmental and geopolitical theme of oil dependence, a recurring subject in Fairey's work, and the source associates it with both pop-culture and environment-and-climate themes.

Why It Matters

Cost Of Oil engages one of Fairey's most persistent concerns: the human and environmental price of fossil-fuel dependence. Although the record itself is sparse, the title and theme place the print within a long line of Fairey works critiquing oil, war, and corporate power, a thread that runs from his mid-2000s output into later mandala and crude-oil pieces. For collectors, that thematic continuity is the main draw, since Cost Of Oil reads as an early statement in a body of work Fairey would return to repeatedly. The signed edition of 400 is a standard Obey Giant run for the period, offering reasonable availability while retaining the appeal of a hand-signed screen print. Released in 2008 amid heightened debate over energy and the environment, the work captures Fairey's instinct to fold pressing political issues into bold, poster-ready graphics. Because the source description is limited, its significance rests more on theme and context than on documented detail, but it remains a coherent piece of Fairey's environmental-critique lineage and a recognizable touchpoint for collectors tracking that subject across his catalog.

Collector Perspective

This print appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's environmental and political-critique output, especially those assembling a run of his oil- and climate-themed works. At a signed edition of 400 it is among the more attainable pieces in that group, making it a practical anchor for a thematic collection. The 18 x 24 format and Fairey's bold graphic approach give it solid display presence, and its title makes the message immediately legible, which collectors value for conversation and curation. Those tracing the evolution of Fairey's oil critique toward later works will appreciate Cost Of Oil as an earlier reference point within that ongoing series.

Historical Context

Released in June 2008 through Obey Giant, Cost Of Oil belongs to a period when Fairey increasingly used his prints to address environmental and geopolitical issues alongside his better-known political imagery. The subject of oil dependence recurs across his catalog, and this work reads as an earlier entry in a lineage he would extend in later years with related crude-oil and blood-and-oil pieces. Issued as a standard signed edition of 400, it reflects the typical Obey Giant release format of the era. Because the record supplies limited descriptive detail, its placement in Fairey's arc rests largely on its title and recurring theme rather than on documented production specifics, but it fits clearly within his environment-and-climate strand.

FAQ

Related Works

Drink Crude Oil2017 · Later Fairey print on the same oil-critique theme.

Blood & Oil Mandala (Blood Drop)2017 · Continues the oil and environmental-cost subject in a later work.

11th Hour (First Edition)2007 · Closely related environment-and-climate print from the prior year.

Operation Oil Freedom (Large Format)2007 · Earlier oil-and-war themed print in the same critique lineage.

Arctic 50th Anniversary2010 · Environmental-cause print extending Fairey's climate engagement.

Into The Future2012 · Later environment/energy-themed Obey Giant release in the same arc.