Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “#DAMAGEDApp Print (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
I made this print to be available for those who download the #DamagedApp. I think it’s an amazing experience to be able to immerse yourself in the largest solo fine art exhibition I’ve done thus far and feel like you’re inside of the show. This is a cool way to get the app AND get a print that won’t be for sale. Thanks for the support! Thanks to VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Mag we are allowing 450 fans who get the app to get a print as well.
Summary
#DAMAGEDApp Print (First Edition) is a screen print measuring 24 x 18 inches, published in 2018 by Obey Giant in a numbered edition of 450. Per Fairey's statement, the print was made available to fans who downloaded the #DamagedApp, a virtual-reality experience tied to his DAMAGED solo exhibition, and was not offered for general sale. He describes the app as a way to immerse oneself inside the largest solo fine art exhibition he had done to that point. The release was enabled in partnership with VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Magazine for 450 app users.
Why It Matters
This print is a direct artifact of Fairey's DAMAGED exhibition and its accompanying virtual-reality app, making it a crossover object between physical print collecting and digital exhibition technology. According to Fairey's statement, he created it specifically as a reward for fans who downloaded the #DamagedApp, calling the app a way to immerse yourself inside the largest solo fine art exhibition he had done thus far. That tie to a specific show and a specific technology gives the print documentary value: it marks a moment when Fairey used VR, in partnership with VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Magazine, to extend a gallery experience to a wider audience. The print was not for sale, distributed instead to 450 app users, which shapes its scarcity and its meaning as a participation reward rather than a retail product. For collectors, it connects to the broader DAMAGED body of work and to Fairey's ongoing experimentation with how exhibitions reach people. A basic listing would record only its dimensions and edition; the deeper story is its role as a bridge between Fairey's physical fine-art practice and a digital, immersive presentation of that same show.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's DAMAGED period and on releases with a documented, event-specific origin. Its draw is that it was a non-retail reward tied to the #DamagedApp, given to 450 fans rather than sold, which interests completists tracking the DAMAGED exhibition ecosystem and collectors who prize unusual distribution stories. At 24 x 18 inches it sits comfortably alongside other 2017-2018 Obey Giant prints and fits a collection organized around exhibitions, collaborations, or pop-culture crossovers. The partnership with VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz adds context that display-minded collectors can foreground. Because it was distributed through the app rather than openly sold, copies carry a participatory provenance that distinguishes them from standard store releases.
Historical Context
Released in December 2018 by Obey Giant, this print is anchored to Fairey's DAMAGED exhibition, which he describes in the source as the largest solo fine art exhibition he had done to that point. It belongs to a late-2010s phase in which Fairey paired major gallery shows with experimental outreach, here a virtual-reality app produced with VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Magazine. Distributing a print to 450 app users rather than selling it reflects his interest in rewarding direct fan engagement and in extending an exhibition beyond its physical walls. Within his arc, the piece documents the convergence of his print practice with emerging immersive media during this period.
FAQ
What was this print made for?
Fairey created it as a reward for fans who downloaded the #DamagedApp, a virtual-reality experience tied to his DAMAGED solo exhibition. He describes the app as a way to immerse yourself inside the largest solo fine art exhibition he had done thus far, with the print offered as a bonus for getting the app.
Was this print sold?
No. According to Fairey's statement, the print was not for sale and was made available only to fans who downloaded the app. He notes that VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Magazine made it possible to give the print to 450 app users.
How large is the edition?
It was published in 2018 by Obey Giant in a numbered edition of 450, the same number of app users who could receive it. The print measures 24 x 18 inches and is a screen print.
Who partnered on the release?
Fairey credits VRT Ventures and Juxtapoz Magazine for enabling 450 fans who downloaded the app to receive a print as well, framing the release as a collaborative thank-you to supporters of the DAMAGED show.
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.