Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Big Brother”?
Artist Statement
This image is an illustration I drew of a guy with somewhat of a creepy face, which I called "Giant Brother" as a reference to George Orwell's 1984, where the government has everyone under surveillance and their slogan is "Big Brother is watching you." I illustrated half the face and then mirrored it, and I discovered that since no face is perfectly symmetrical, the symmetry introduces an inhuman, sinister aspect to a picture that might not be as disturbing otherwise. I thought the guy looked creepy to begin with, but it turned out even scarier than I had predicted.
Summary
Big Brother is a 1999 screen print, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100. Fairey describes drawing a deliberately creepy face he called Giant Brother, referencing George Orwell's 1984 and its slogan Big Brother is watching you. He illustrated half the face and mirrored it; because no face is perfectly symmetrical, the forced symmetry produces an inhuman, sinister quality. By his account, the mirrored result turned out even scarier than he predicted, fusing his Giant iconography with an Orwellian surveillance message in a single unsettling portrait.
Why It Matters
Big Brother is a foundational statement of Fairey's surveillance theme, and it comes with an unusually detailed artist description that explains both the Orwellian reference and the formal trick behind its unease. By drawing half a face and mirroring it, Fairey weaponizes symmetry: the result reads as inhuman and sinister precisely because real faces are never symmetrical. That technique, and the explicit nod to 1984's watching state, anchor a motif he would revisit for years in works like Big Brother Profile, Big Brother 2, and Big Brother Is Watching. The piece ties directly to the OBEY campaign's core provocation about authority and surveillance that grew from the Andre the Giant sticker project, here naming the figure Giant Brother to bind the surveillance idea to his own iconography. As a 1999 first edition of 100, it is a small early run, but its documented intent and its role as a wellspring for a sustained series give it significance well beyond its size. Collectors and researchers value it as a clearly articulated origin point where Fairey's graphic method and his political-surveillance messaging visibly converge.
Collector Perspective
Big Brother appeals to collectors who prioritize Fairey's surveillance and political themes and to those tracking the origins of his recurring Big Brother motif. The documented artist statement, explaining the mirrored-face technique and the Orwellian reference, gives the piece strong provenance and a ready narrative that many sparse early titles lack. As a 1999 first edition of 100, it is a small early run suited to a chronological or thematic collection. Visually it is striking and unsettling, with a symmetrical face designed to disturb, making it a confident display piece. It groups especially well with the later Big Brother editions, where its early date positions it as the conceptual anchor of the series.
Historical Context
Big Brother dates to 1999, within Fairey's prolific late-1990s Obey Giant period, and stands as an early, well-documented expression of his Orwellian surveillance motif. Drawing on 1984, Fairey named the figure Giant Brother to fuse the watching-state theme with his own Giant iconography, which had spread through the Andre the Giant sticker campaign. The mirrored-face technique he describes became a memorable formal device, and the surveillance subject seeded a series he developed across the following decade. With a detailed artist statement in the source, this print marks a clear point where Fairey's graphic experimentation and his political messaging align.
FAQ
What is Big Brother by Shepard Fairey?
It is a 1999 screen print, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100. Fairey drew a deliberately creepy face he called Giant Brother, referencing George Orwell's 1984 and its surveillance slogan, Big Brother is watching you.
How was the unsettling effect created?
Fairey illustrated half the face and mirrored it. Because no face is perfectly symmetrical, the forced symmetry introduced an inhuman, sinister quality. By his account, the mirrored result turned out even scarier than he had predicted.
What does the title reference?
The title references George Orwell's 1984, where the government keeps everyone under surveillance under the slogan Big Brother is watching you. Fairey tied this to his own iconography by naming the figure Giant Brother.
How large is the edition?
The source lists a first edition of 100, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant. No additional editions are noted in the record.
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.