Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Blood & Oil Mandala (Blood Drop)”?
Artist Statement
Blood & Oil Mandala (Blood Drop). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 400. $45 per print. $90 per set.
Summary
Blood & Oil Mandala (Blood Drop) is a 2017 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant. It is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 400 at $45 per print ($90 per set). The Blood Drop is one of two colorways alongside an Oil Drop version, and the mandala composition pairs Fairey's ornamental symmetry with imagery evoking blood and oil, a visual shorthand linking conflict and fossil-fuel dependence within his environmental and political concerns.
Why It Matters
Blood & Oil Mandala distills two of Fairey's recurring preoccupations, environmental critique and the human cost of resource extraction, into his signature mandala format. The mandala structure, a radial, ornamental symmetry he uses to lend weight and a quasi-sacred gravity to political subjects, here frames the loaded pairing of blood and oil, a visual argument connecting fossil-fuel dependence to conflict and harm. Released as a two-colorway set, Blood Drop and Oil Drop, it invites collectors to display the variants together, reinforcing the thematic duality through paired presentation. At an edition of 400 and $45 per print ($90 per set), it was an accessible, message-forward release rather than a scarce collectible, consistent with Fairey's strategy of spreading environmentally charged imagery widely. Within his catalog, the mandala works occupy a distinctive aesthetic niche: more decorative and pattern-driven than his portrait or text-based propaganda prints, yet still carrying pointed commentary. For collectors, the appeal lies in this fusion of ornamental beauty and critique, the set's collectible pairing, and its clear place in Fairey's environmental body of work. It pairs naturally with his other oil, fossil-fuel, and earth-crisis editions, making it a strong anchor for a climate- and energy-themed grouping that values both decorative impact and a coherent activist message.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors of Fairey's environmental and mandala works, and anyone who values decorative, pattern-rich graphics with a critical edge. The Blood Drop and Oil Drop colorways encourage acquiring both to display the set together, deepening the thematic pairing of conflict and fossil-fuel dependence. At 18 x 24 inches on cream Speckletone paper, the symmetrical mandala composition makes a striking framed centerpiece. With a numbered edition of 400 and an accessible $45 per print ($90 per set), it is approachable for collectors building an environmental or climate-themed wall. It complements his other oil and earth-crisis editions and offers more ornamental visual appeal than his text-heavy political prints.
Historical Context
Released October 2017 by Obey Giant, Blood & Oil Mandala belongs to Fairey's ongoing environmental and anti-fossil-fuel work, a strand that grew prominent in his mid-to-late 2010s output. The mandala format recurs across his catalog as a way to give ornamental structure and gravity to political and ecological themes. Issued as a paired colorway set within a dense 2017 run of Obey Giant editions, it sits alongside his other resource-and-climate prints, reflecting his sustained use of accessible signed editions to circulate environmental critique. The blood-and-oil pairing extends his long-running linkage of energy dependence to conflict and harm.
FAQ
What does the Blood & Oil Mandala depict?
It is a mandala composition pairing imagery evoking blood and oil, using Fairey's radial, ornamental symmetry to frame a critique linking fossil-fuel dependence to conflict and harm. The source lists Environment and climate as a theme, consistent with the blood-and-oil pairing.
Is this print part of a set?
Yes. The Blood Drop is one of two colorways, released alongside an Oil Drop version. The source notes a $45 per-print price and a $90 set price, and many collectors acquire both variants to display the thematic pairing together.
What are the edition and dimensions?
It is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper, 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 400. It was offered at $45 per print or $90 for the two-colorway set, an accessible, message-forward release.
How does the mandala format function in Fairey's work?
Fairey uses the mandala's radial symmetry to lend ornamental structure and gravity to political and ecological subjects. Here it frames the loaded blood-and-oil pairing, giving an environmental critique a decorative, pattern-driven presence distinct from his text-based propaganda 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.