What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Fruits Of Our Labor”?

Artist Statement

FRUITS OF OUR LABOR The Fruits of Our Labor print was inspired by a couple of things: the genetic modification of fruits and vegetables, and the military industrial complex. A few months ago, Neil Young invited me to check out some of the recording sessions for his forthcoming record "The Monsanto Years." I was inspired by the songs and Neil's courage to speak out against corporate greed from Monsanto as well as Chevron, Starbucks, and others. Neil asked if I'd be willing to create art inspired by the themes on the record and so I began thinking about ideas. One of the things I knew was that Monsanto produced Agent Orange for the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. This gave me the idea to use an orange as grenade to portray dangerous fruit literally and metaphorically. I've always admired Neil's environmental activism, so I included his lyric "mother nature on the run" in the print as well. Genetic Modification in essence allows corporations to play god with the food we eat. People deserve the right to know where their food comes from. The print also addresses the arms industry and the power it wields. The military industrial complex is so large and powerful that it has massive influence over politicians and is funded by billions in taxpayer dollars. Are these the fruits of our dollars and industries that we want? -Shepard FRUITS OF OUR LABOR Shepard Fairey, 2015 18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckletone paper. Signed and numbered edition of 450.

Summary

"Fruits Of Our Labor" is a 2015 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches on cream speckletone paper as a signed and numbered first edition of 450. The image depicts an orange rendered as a grenade, a metaphor Fairey uses to address genetic modification of food and the military-industrial complex. The design incorporates Neil Young's lyric "mother nature on the run," created after Young invited Fairey to recording sessions for his album "The Monsanto Years." The work connects corporate control of food, Monsanto's history producing Agent Orange, and the arms industry into a single environmental and anti-corporate statement.

Why It Matters

"Fruits Of Our Labor" is one of the more conceptually loaded prints in Fairey's 2015 run, with a documented origin story that elevates it above a routine studio edition. Fairey explains it grew from Neil Young's invitation to recording sessions for "The Monsanto Years," and the print directly incorporates Young's lyric "mother nature on the run." The central image, an orange transformed into a grenade, compresses two arguments into one symbol: opposition to corporate genetic modification of food and a critique of the military-industrial complex, linked through Fairey's note that Monsanto produced Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. For a database this matters because the source supplies an unusually rich, artist-stated rationale that ties the print to a specific musical collaboration and to layered environmental and anti-corporate themes. It exemplifies how Fairey fuses pop-cultural partnerships with activist messaging, using a single arresting visual metaphor to carry dense political content. Collectors valuing works with strong narrative provenance and clear thematic intent will find this print significant, both as an environmental statement and as a tangible artifact of Fairey's connection to Neil Young's activist music.

Collector Perspective

This print appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's environmental and anti-corporate work, and especially to those drawn to its Neil Young connection and the "The Monsanto Years" backstory. The orange-as-grenade image is a strong, legible visual metaphor that makes it a compelling centerpiece for a themed wall about food politics or corporate critique. Music-crossover collectors may value the embedded Young lyric. At 18 x 24 inches on cream speckletone paper, signed and numbered in an edition of 450, it presents as a substantial yet accessible acquisition. It fits naturally in a collection organized around environmental themes or around Fairey's collaborations with musicians and activists, where its documented narrative adds display and discussion value.

Historical Context

"Fruits Of Our Labor" reflects Fairey's mid-2010s engagement with environmental and anti-corporate activism, channeled here through a collaboration-adjacent project tied to Neil Young's "The Monsanto Years." By 2015 Fairey routinely linked his graphic work to specific causes and cultural partners, and this print shows him drawing on a musician's activism to shape his own imagery. The piece connects threads that recur across his catalog: corporate power, environmental harm, and the legacy of the Vietnam War through the Agent Orange reference. Within his arc it belongs to the steady stream of issue-driven editions he produced during this period, demonstrating how he used affordable screen prints to advance pointed arguments. The embedded Young lyric and the documented studio origin make it a clear example of Fairey's music-and-activism crossovers in this era.

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Related Works

Mother Nature On The Run2020 · Shares the Neil Young 'mother nature on the run' lyric and environmental theme.

Obey Fire Sale2018 · Same environmental-and-climate theme within Fairey's activist print line.

Fan The Flames2019 · Continues the environmental-critique thread seen in this print.

Endless Power Petrol Palace (Blue On Cream)2019 · Anti-corporate-energy environmental message in the same vein.

A Beautiful Fucking Experience2013 · Earlier consumerism-and-power release in Fairey's anti-corporate work.