Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Mao”?
Artist Statement
MAO Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 100
Summary
Mao is a 1998 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100, measuring 18 x 24 inches. The image appropriates the likeness of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, rendering it in Fairey's flat, high-contrast propaganda-poster style. By isolating a defining figure of 20th-century communist ideology as a bold graphic icon, the print engages directly with the tradition of state propaganda imagery built around Mao. It belongs to Fairey's late-1990s sequence of editioned screen prints that recast ideological leaders and symbols of authority, echoing the very poster aesthetics historically used to glorify them.
Why It Matters
Mao is a clear example of Fairey's appropriation of state-propaganda imagery to expose how political authority is visually manufactured and mass-distributed. Mao Zedong is among the most reproduced propaganda subjects in history, which makes him a pointed choice for an artist whose entire project critiques obedience and the saturation of public space with controlling imagery. The 1998 date places this print among the early editioned screen prints that codified Fairey's propaganda-inspired aesthetic before his broader fame. For collectors, Mao sits with the harder, more confrontational political works in Fairey's catalog and reflects his recurring engagement with ideological iconography. Fairey returned to the Mao motif in later works, including a 2000 Mao Stamp and a 2001 Mao Banner, making the 1998 print a foundational entry in a recurring subject across his career. Its small stated edition of 100 and late-1990s origin make it one of the scarcer early Obey prints. Within a collection it documents the period when Fairey systematically tested how leader iconography could be repurposed as critique.
Collector Perspective
Mao appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's political appropriation work and on the early Obey Giant era specifically, as well as those tracking recurring motifs across his catalog. The stated first edition of 100 and 1998 date draw buyers who value scarcity and pre-fame provenance. It pairs naturally with companion 1998 prints, Stalin, Cop, and Grenade, at a uniform 18 x 24 inch size, and connects forward to the later Mao Stamp and Mao Banner for collectors building a subject-based grouping. The recognizable subject rendered in a deliberately provocative style rewards collectors comfortable with charged political content. Its bold graphic presence makes it a striking wall piece, and its format consistency supports display as a thematic set.
Historical Context
Mao was produced in 1998 during the consolidation of Fairey's Obey Giant project, which had grown from his 1989 Andre the Giant sticker campaign. In this period he issued 18 x 24 inch screen prints in editions of 100 appropriating ideological leaders and symbols of authority. Mao Zedong, a centerpiece of 20th-century communist propaganda imagery, fits his early interest in the visual machinery of state power. Fairey revisited the Mao subject in later works such as a 2000 stamp image and a 2001 banner. These late-1990s editions predate his wider recognition and his 2008 Hope poster, placing this print in the foundational Posters and Propaganda phase of his arc.
FAQ
Who is depicted in Mao?
The print appropriates the likeness of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, rendered in Shepard Fairey's flat, high-contrast propaganda style. It turns one of history's most reproduced propaganda subjects into a bold graphic icon that engages the tradition of state imagery built around him.
What are the dimensions and edition size?
The source record lists Mao at 18 x 24 inches in a first edition of 100, published by Obey Giant in 1998 as a screen print.
Did Fairey revisit the Mao subject?
Yes. Beyond this 1998 print, related records include a 2000 Mao Stamp and a 2001 Mao Banner, making the Mao motif a recurring subject across Fairey's catalog and this print a foundational early entry in that thread.
How does Mao fit with the other 1998 prints?
It belongs to a 1998 group of 18 x 24 inch editions of 100, including Stalin, Cop, and Grenade. Together they form an early Obey Giant statement on power, ideology, and the appropriation of propaganda imagery.
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.