What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Pattern Of Corruption (Blue / White Set)”?

Artist Statement

Cleon Peterson and I recently collaborated on a mural in Miami’s Wynwood district and were happy enough with the end result to decide to make some limited edition screen prints inspired by the mural. Cleon and I both deal with the persistent themes of the fragility of society, human savagery, and corruption in our work. The image has a dichotomy in its hypnotic classical floral pattern with sinister elements woven into it, which caution the viewer to look deeper than an appealing surface presentation. -Shepard 18 x 24 inch screen print. Signed by Shepard Fairey and Cleon Peterson. Numbered editions of 150. 3 colorways available: Black/White, Gold/Black and Blue/White. All sets are $120.

Summary

Pattern Of Corruption is a 2015 screen print set, 24 x 18 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey and Cleon Peterson in numbered editions of 150, priced at $120 per set and published by Obey Giant. Released in three colorways, Black/White, Gold/Black, and Blue/White, it was inspired by a mural the two artists made in Miami's Wynwood district. The image embeds sinister elements within a hypnotic classical floral pattern, cautioning viewers to look past an appealing surface to the corruption beneath.

Why It Matters

This set is a notable Fairey-Cleon Peterson collaboration that fuses Fairey's decorative pattern work with Peterson's darker iconography of human savagery. The source documents that both artists deal with the fragility of society, savagery, and corruption, and that the image deliberately sets a hypnotic classical floral pattern against sinister woven-in elements, a built-in dichotomy that rewards close looking. Originating from a shared mural in Miami's Wynwood district, the prints extend a public collaboration into collectible form, a model Fairey uses often. The three-colorway structure, Black/White, Gold/Black, and Blue/White, each in an edition of 150, gives set collectors clear variants to pursue and makes the overall run relatively limited per colorway. The dual signature pairs Fairey with a respected contemporary artist, broadening the work's appeal beyond Fairey's core base. For collectors drawn to Fairey's collaborations and to socially critical imagery delivered through seductive design, Pattern Of Corruption is a strong, well-documented example.

Collector Perspective

This set draws collectors of Fairey collaborations and admirers of Cleon Peterson, as well as buyers who appreciate socially critical imagery wrapped in decorative pattern. The three colorways, each an edition of 150, give variant-focused collectors a clear pursuit, and the $120 set price reflects its two-print, dual-signature nature. The Wynwood mural origin appeals to those who value works that bridge public art and editions. The floral-pattern-with-menace concept makes for a striking, conversation-driving wall piece. It fits a collection organized around Fairey collaborations, social-critique themes, or pattern-based design.

Historical Context

Released January 27, 2015, Pattern Of Corruption stems from a Fairey and Cleon Peterson mural in Miami's Wynwood district, a hub of large-scale public art. The collaboration reflects Fairey's mid-2010s practice of converting joint murals into limited screen-print sets, and pairs his decorative, pattern-driven aesthetic with Peterson's stark imagery of violence and societal collapse. The shared themes the source names, fragility of society, human savagery, and corruption, situate the work within Fairey's broader vein of social critique delivered through seductive surfaces. Issued in three colorways through Obey Giant, it also exemplifies the colorway-variant release strategy common to his collaborative editions of the period. The piece belongs to Fairey's network of artist collaborations that translate public murals into accessible, message-bearing prints.

FAQ

Related Works

Not One More2015 · Same-year collaboration print with a social-critique message.

American Civics - Mass Incarceration2016 · Shares corruption and justice critique in a collaborative series.

American Civics - Gun Culture2016 · Related social-critique collaboration print.

American Civics - Two Americas2016 · Continues collaborative social-commentary work.

Cultivate Justice (Blue)2021 · Later justice-themed print in a comparable vein.