What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Bias By Numbers (Large Format)”?

Artist Statement

For much of my career I only made 18 x 24-inch screen prints of my images, so for this series I have created 30 x 41-inch fine art prints on custom paper. This series will be the first time many of these images are available as nicer art pieces. It has been fun to revisit older images utilizing the broader palette of techniques I've developed over the years. To kick things off, I'll be starting by releasing newer images and spanning back to some art that hasn't been seen for a while. I've touched upon the abuse of authority by police and racism with several images that I created over the years, but since this series of 30th-anniversary works is only 30 images, I chose "Bias by Numbers" as an important piece that features an intersection of those concerns. "Bias by Numbers" addresses racial bias in policing, criminal justice, and media culture. Racial bias in policing and criminal justice has a long history, including stats like – black people being five times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, and four times more likely to be subjected to unnecessary use of force, or four times more likely to be killed by the police when unarmed. The statistics revealing racial bias in prosecution and sentencing are compelling as well. Though recreational drug use is equally common in both predominantly black communities and predominantly white communities, convictions for drug possession are almost six times higher for blacks. Blacks frequently receive longer prison sentences than whites contributing to African Americans being incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites. Racial bias in police enforcement undermines public trust and presents a significant threat to the legitimacy of law enforcement in all communities. However, racial bias as a police issue may be intensified by other cultural factors which are both overt and insidious. Media characterizations of black protesters use words such as "agitators," "lawless thugs," "hoodlums" and many more, whereas descriptions of white protesters typically read as individuals "exercising free speech," "expressing their convictions," and "showing what democracy looks like." I hope this art doesn't just appeal visually but allows viewers to look at the layers of information and facts and think about how to make positive changes to patterns of injustice. – Shepard Print Details: Bias by Numbers. Serigraph on 100% Cotton Custom Archival Paper with hand-deckled edges. 30 x 41 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 89. $900.

Summary

Bias by Numbers is a 2019 large-format Shepard Fairey serigraph published by Obey Giant, printed on 100% cotton custom archival paper with hand-deckled edges, measuring 30 x 41 inches in a signed, numbered edition of 89. Part of his 30th-anniversary large-format series, the print addresses racial bias in policing, criminal justice, and media culture. Fairey cites disparities in stops, use of force, prosecution, and sentencing, and contrasts how media describe black versus white protesters. He intends the work to invite viewers to examine layers of information and consider how to change patterns of injustice.

Why It Matters

Bias by Numbers is one of Fairey's most explicitly data-driven civil-rights statements, selected as a key image for his 30-image 30th-anniversary large-format series precisely because it sits at the intersection of his concerns about police abuse and racism. The source details the statistics it confronts, disparities in stops, use of force, drug convictions, and sentencing, and the loaded language media use to describe black versus white protesters. That documentary specificity distinguishes it from purely symbolic protest art. As a large-format serigraph on cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges in an edition of just 89, it represents the elevated, fine-art tier of Fairey's output rather than his accessible poster line, signaling that he reserved this premium treatment for an image he considered important. For collectors, the small edition and museum-grade materials raise both its scarcity and its standing as a centerpiece. It anchors a social-justice grouping and pairs naturally with his portraits of civil-rights figures, extending his decades-long engagement with race and authority into a deliberately statistical, argument-driven format.

Collector Perspective

This print targets serious collectors of socially engaged art and those building around civil rights and criminal-justice themes. With an edition of only 89 on cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges, it is a premium, fine-art-tier acquisition rather than an entry-level poster, and its 30 x 41 scale makes it a commanding focal point. Buyers value its place in the 30th-anniversary large-format series and its argument-driven content. It displays powerfully on its own and pairs well with Fairey's civil-rights portraits and justice-themed works, fitting a political or social-justice collection where message and provenance both matter.

Historical Context

Bias by Numbers was made for Fairey's 30th-anniversary large-format series, a 2019 program that re-presented selected images as 30 x 41-inch fine-art prints on custom paper. The source notes he chose it from among many works because it intersects his long-running concerns about abuse of authority by police and racism. It extends a theme he had returned to across his career into a deliberately statistical format, reflecting the heightened national attention to racial bias in policing and criminal justice in this period. Within his arc, it represents the convergence of his activist subject matter with a more elevated, archival presentation reserved for his anniversary works.

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Related Works

John Lewis - Good Trouble2020 · Civil-rights subject directly aligned with this print's policing-and-justice theme.

A Champion Of Justice (Ruth Bader Ginsberg) (18 x 24 Inch)2021 · Justice-focused portrait sharing the criminal-justice and equality concerns.

Voting Rights Are Human Rights MKE Mural2021 · Civil-rights and human-rights message in the same activist vein.

Just Future Rising2021 · Politics-and-democracy print continuing the justice-and-reform messaging.

Just Angels Rising2021 · Companion justice-themed political work from a related series.

Democracidal Tendencies2024 · Later politics-and-democracy print extending the systemic-critique focus.