Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “BNE X Shepard Fairey”?
Artist Statement
I first encountered BNE’s work through his graffiti in San Francisco in the late 90's. At that time he was up huge in some daring spots. A few years later I started seeing a massive number of his stickers in cities around the USA, Europe, and Asia. I was, and am, incredibly impressed by his proliferation of his stickers, if for no other reason than his work is proof that one person has the power to literally change the landscape of many cities! I think BNE may be the most “up” sticker bomber on the planet. Whether or not you appreciate or hate graffiti/street art, it requires tenacity and risk taking. It is easy for me to recognize guts, passion, and dedication in BNE, and unlike most graffiti artists, he is not using his notoriety solely for personal glory, but has put his infamy toward a very worthwhile cause… clean water. The print we have collaborated on benefits CharityWater.org… A NYC based NPO that has helped over 3.1 million people get access to clean, safe drinking water. They are radically transparent and use 100% of donations for actual water project costs. BNE shot the photo I illustrated from in Indonesia and he and I have both signed all of the prints. The print is $60 and comes with four BNE lip balms worth $16 and two BNE stickers (priceless). All profits go to CharityWater.org 18 x 24 inch screen print signed by Shepard Fairey and BNE. Numbered edition of 400. $60. Includes 4 organic lip balms and 2 BNE stickers. Limit 1 per person/household. Photo by BNE. Release date: September 17, 2013
Summary
BNE X Shepard Fairey is a 2013 collaborative screen print, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a numbered edition of 400. Fairey illustrated the image from a photograph that the prolific street and sticker artist BNE shot in Indonesia, and both artists signed every print. The release benefited CharityWater.org, a New York-based nonprofit focused on clean drinking water. Priced at $60, each print included four BNE organic lip balms and two BNE stickers, with all profits going to the charity. It was released September 17, 2013, limited to one per person or household.
Why It Matters
This print fuses Fairey's collaborative instincts with explicit cause-driven fundraising. Teaming with BNE, an artist Fairey credits with being among the most prolific sticker bombers worldwide, the work celebrates the tenacity and risk of street art while directing its proceeds toward clean-water access through CharityWater.org. Fairey's text frames BNE as an example of street notoriety redirected toward a worthwhile cause rather than personal glory, making the print a statement about how the artist values purpose-driven practice. The use of a photograph BNE himself shot in Indonesia keeps the collaboration genuinely two-sided, and the dual signatures reinforce that shared authorship. For collectors, the larger edition of 400 and accessible $60 release price made it broadly available, while the included BNE lip balms and stickers add an unusual, ephemera-rich bonus that ties the object to street-art culture. It matters as a clear example of Fairey leveraging his platform and audience for charitable impact, and as documentation of his engagement with the global sticker and graffiti community he came up alongside.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to street-art and graffiti collectors, BNE followers, and Fairey buyers who value works tied to a charitable cause. The dual signatures and the clean-water fundraising story give it a meaningful provenance, and the included BNE lip balms and stickers make it an unusually ephemera-rich package that street-culture collectors appreciate. At an edition of 400 and an accessible original price it was widely available, making it a friendly entry point rather than a trophy piece. Visually it works as a bold portrait-scale street-art image suited to casual or studio display, and it slots naturally into a collaboration-focused or activism-adjacent grouping alongside Fairey's other cause-driven and partner releases.
Historical Context
BNE X Shepard Fairey reflects Fairey's recurring use of his platform for charitable fundraising and his long engagement with the international sticker and graffiti scene, a world he describes encountering through BNE's work in San Francisco in the late 1990s and later across cities worldwide. Released in fall 2013 amid a dense run of collaborations, it pairs Fairey's illustration practice with a photograph by his collaborator, a method he used repeatedly that year. The clean-water benefit ties it to a strand of socially motivated releases across his catalog, where the art functions partly as a vehicle for a cause. By spotlighting BNE's prolific, risk-taking output, the print also documents Fairey's role as a connector and amplifier within street-art culture during this period.
FAQ
What cause did this print support?
All profits from the print went to CharityWater.org, a New York-based nonprofit that the source notes had helped over 3.1 million people access clean, safe drinking water and that uses 100 percent of donations for water project costs.
What was included with the print?
Priced at $60, each print included four BNE organic lip balms, valued at $16, and two BNE stickers. The print is an 18 x 24 inch screen print signed by both Shepard Fairey and BNE, in a numbered edition of 400.
Who is BNE and what was the source image?
BNE is a prolific street and sticker artist whom Fairey describes as possibly the most 'up' sticker bomber on the planet. The print is illustrated from a photograph BNE himself shot in Indonesia, making it a genuine two-way collaboration.
When was it released and what were the limits?
It was released on September 17, 2013, published by Obey Giant, and limited to one per person or household. The numbered edition totaled 400 prints.
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.