Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Wave Of Distress (Blue)”?
Artist Statement
World Water Day is Monday and is a fitting day to precede the release of these Wave of Distress prints. World Water Day not only focuses attention on the water crisis and drinking water, but it is also a day of reflection to celebrate water. So I wanted to share a new piece of art that I think gives consciousness to water. I've done several wave illustrations over the years because I love the power and beauty of waves. The crashing waves and cycle of tides seem endlessly reliable, but ocean health is diminishing in many places. The title Wave of Distress is meant to be a warning. Distress means "suffering in a state of great trouble." If the oceans are in trouble, then the entire planet will be overcome by a wave of distress. The oceans regulate climate and reduce climate change impacts and provide an important habitat and source of food for many species, including humans. These prints are a reminder to respect and restore the oceans. A percentage of proceeds from these prints will go to Greenpeace to support their efforts to preserve the environment and promote peace. – Shepard WAVE OF DISTRESS (two colorways: Blue and Sepia). A limited number of matching numbered sets will be available for $110. Blue and Sepia colorways sold separately for $55 each. 24 x 18 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 400 of each colorway. $55. Proceeds go to Greenpeace.
Summary
Wave Of Distress (Blue) is a 2021 screen print, 24 x 18 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper, in a signed, numbered edition of 400. Released by Obey Giant alongside a Sepia colorway, it depicts a crashing wave as a meditation on ocean health and climate. Timed to precede World Water Day, the title is meant as a warning: if the oceans are in trouble, the planet will be overcome by a wave of distress. Fairey notes the oceans regulate climate, reduce climate-change impacts, and provide habitat and food. A percentage of proceeds went to Greenpeace. The original release price was $55, with matched Blue-and-Sepia sets offered at $110.
Why It Matters
Wave Of Distress turns one of Fairey's recurring motifs, the wave, into a pointed environmental warning. He notes he has done several wave illustrations over the years because he loves their power and beauty, and here that affection becomes urgency: the seemingly reliable cycle of crashing waves and tides masks declining ocean health. By titling the piece a wave of distress and explaining that distress means suffering in a state of great trouble, Fairey reframes a decorative subject as a climate alarm. The image's deliberate release ahead of World Water Day, and the redirection of proceeds to Greenpeace, anchor it firmly in environmental activism rather than pure aesthetics. What gives the print collector weight is this dual character: it is among his more visually beautiful compositions while carrying an explicit message that ocean health underpins the entire planet's climate stability. It exemplifies his strategy of using attractive, displayable imagery to deliver a serious ecological argument, and it documents his ongoing alignment of print releases with environmental causes and calendar moments like World Water Day.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who prioritize Fairey's environmental work and to those drawn to his wave imagery as a recurring, visually striking subject. The 24 x 18 format and the choice of Blue (with Sepia available) make it easy to display alone or as a matched set, and collectors who enjoy variant pairings can pursue the numbered Blue-and-Sepia sets. Its Greenpeace association and World Water Day timing give it a clear conservation narrative that fits values-led collections. At an edition of 400 per colorway and a $55 original release price, it is an accessible signed and numbered piece. Collectors assembling an ocean, water, or climate-themed grouping of Fairey prints will find it a natural and attractive anchor.
Historical Context
Released in March 2021 to coincide with World Water Day, Wave Of Distress sits within Fairey's sustained body of environmental prints. It continues a thread of wave illustrations he has produced over the years, repurposing a favored aesthetic motif as a vehicle for climate messaging about ocean health and its role in regulating the planet's climate. The Greenpeace partnership places it among his many releases that pair artwork with environmental fundraising, a hallmark of this phase of his career. Issued in Blue and Sepia colorways with matched-set availability, it reflects his established practice of offering variant editions. Within his arc, the print shows how he repeatedly returns to nature imagery to broaden the reach of his climate advocacy.
FAQ
What does the title Wave Of Distress mean?
Fairey explains the title is meant as a warning. Distress means suffering in a state of great trouble; he argues that if the oceans are in trouble, the entire planet will be overcome by a wave of distress, since oceans regulate climate and provide habitat and food for many species, including humans.
What are the dimensions and edition size?
Wave Of Distress (Blue) measures 24 x 18 inches and is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. It is signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered in an edition of 400 per colorway, published by Obey Giant in 2021, with an original release price of $55.
Were there multiple colorways or sets available?
Yes. The print was released in two colorways, Blue and Sepia, sold separately for $55 each. A limited number of matching numbered Blue-and-Sepia sets were also offered for $110.
Did this release support a cause?
Yes. A percentage of proceeds went to Greenpeace to support its efforts to preserve the environment and promote peace. The print was also timed to precede World Water Day, a day focused on the water crisis and celebrating water.
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.