Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Mujer Fatale (Large Format)”?
Artist Statement
The masked woman, her face covered and partially shaded, is mysterious. She looks directly at the viewer with determination. Her ethnicity is undetermined; the viewer can project their identity on the figure. The use of the word "Mujer," "woman" in Spanish, and the mask is a nod to the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico, and armed anti-globalization group that rebelled against the Mexican government demanding indigenous rights and democracy. The eyes remind Fairey of Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg, the heroine in the 1960's television program, The Avengers. The work is a celebration of feminity, as audacious and assertive women portrayed in 1960's spy films. In 2005 Shepard and his wife Amanda became parents. As the father of two daughters and married to a woman with a strong character, Fairey addressed sexism by rendering images of powerful, defiant women. His portraits of women are in part of a projection of his daughters, a reflection of his wife and an assault on historical portrayals of women appearing nude, powerless, and submissive. Mujer Fatale. Serigraph on Coventry Rag, 100% Cotton Custom Archival Paper with hand-deckled edges. 30 x 41 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 89. $900. Comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Summary
Mujer Fatale (Large Format) is a 2019 screen print published by Obey Giant as a numbered first edition of 89, measuring 30 x 41 inches on Coventry Rag 100% cotton custom archival paper with hand-deckled edges, signed and with a certificate of authenticity, offered at $900. It depicts a masked woman, her face partially covered and shaded, looking directly at the viewer with determination. Her ethnicity is left undetermined so viewers can project their identity onto her. The mask references the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico, while the eyes recall Emma Peel of the 1960s television program The Avengers. The work celebrates audacious, assertive women.
Why It Matters
Mujer Fatale distills Fairey's project of portraying powerful, defiant women into a single arresting, ambiguous figure. The masked woman gazes directly at the viewer with determination, and her deliberately undetermined ethnicity invites viewers to project their own identity onto her, broadening the image into a universal emblem of feminine strength. The mask draws on the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico, an armed anti-globalization group that demanded indigenous rights and democracy, lending the figure a charge of resistance and self-determination. At the same time the eyes evoke Emma Peel from the 1960s series The Avengers, layering in a pop-cultural reference to audacious, assertive women from spy cinema. Fairey frames the work within his broader response to sexism: as the father of two daughters and the husband of a strong-willed woman, he renders images of fierce, independent women as a counter to historical portrayals of women as nude, powerless, or submissive. As a small numbered edition of 89 on premium archival paper, it is a collectible large-format statement that merges feminist messaging, indigenous-rights symbolism, and pop iconography, giving it unusual conceptual range among his portraits.
Collector Perspective
Mujer Fatale appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's empowered-women portraits and on works that blend social-justice symbolism with pop-cultural reference. The ambiguity of the masked figure and the Zapatista and Avengers references give it rich talking points, while the direct, determined gaze makes it a striking centerpiece. At 30 x 41 inches in a numbered edition of 89, signed with a certificate of authenticity, it suits buyers seeking scarce, large-format works rather than accessible poster editions. It groups naturally with his other 2019 large-format female portraits and with his justice-themed pieces, anchoring a thematic collection around women, resistance, and identity. Collectors who appreciate layered meaning and bold portraiture will find it a high-impact addition.
Historical Context
Mujer Fatale belongs to the 2019 large-format archival serigraphs and to Fairey's ongoing series of portraits addressing sexism and celebrating powerful women, a strand he intensified after becoming a father of two daughters. The mask connects the figure to the Zapatista movement's struggle for indigenous rights and democracy, while the Emma Peel reference ties it to 1960s spy-film depictions of assertive women. Within his arc, the work exemplifies how he fuses contemporary and pop-cultural sources into portraits that deliberately counter historical images of women as passive or submissive. Issued in multiple formats, the large-format edition represents the premium archival expression of this recurring feminist theme in his catalog.
FAQ
What does the mask reference?
The mask, paired with the Spanish word Mujer (woman), nods to the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico, an armed anti-globalization group that rebelled against the Mexican government demanding indigenous rights and democracy. It lends the figure a charge of resistance and self-determination.
Why is the woman's ethnicity left undetermined?
Fairey leaves her ethnicity undetermined so that viewers can project their own identity onto the figure. Combined with her direct, determined gaze, this makes her a universal emblem of feminine strength rather than a portrait of one specific person.
What pop-cultural reference is in the eyes?
Fairey says the eyes remind him of Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg, the heroine of the 1960s television program The Avengers. The work is a celebration of femininity as embodied by the audacious, assertive women portrayed in 1960s spy films.
What is the edition size and format?
This large-format first edition is a numbered edition of 89, a serigraph on Coventry Rag 100% cotton custom archival paper with hand-deckled edges, measuring 30 x 41 inches. It is signed by Shepard Fairey, comes with a certificate of authenticity, and was offered at $900.
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.