Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Tribal Anniversary”?
Artist Statement
I designed this mandala, which symbolizes harmony and unity, to include things that people might not necessarily see as going together but have been a big part of both the Tribal and Obey cultures for the 35 years we've been doing our thing, it is phenomenal to see how connected Bobby has been with people doing great creative work over all these years. Congrats on 35 years of Tribal! Thanks for your support from the beginning. -S There are only a handful of survivors from the early days of streetwear. Shepard and I thought it would be cool to celebrate this, 35 years later. Shepard and I first met at a 432F show here in San Diego. The 432F shows are where I claim streetwear was born. It was the first spot where brands from both the East Coast and West Coast showed collectively under one roof. What inspired Shepard and me to work together was our connection to the streets. We were always working with different types of graffiti writers, street artists, graphic designers, etc. Personally, I'm a collector of Shepard's work—old work, new work, and everything in between. Collaborating with him means a lot. I've always had a ton of respect for Shepard. I've seen what he's been able to accomplish worldwide with his OBEY Propaganda campaign. Beyond that, just how much he's done is insane. Unlike any other street artist: Shepard Fairey, OBEY, and TRIBAL, 35 years strong. -Bobby Tribal Tribal Anniversary. 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 300. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $65.
Summary
Tribal Anniversary is a 2024 screen print published by Obey Giant in a signed, numbered edition of 300, measuring 18 x 24 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper. Designed as a mandala symbolizing harmony and unity, it celebrates 35 years of the streetwear brand Tribal and its founder Bobby Tribal. The composition intentionally combines elements from both Tribal and OBEY cultures, reflecting a long shared history in streetwear and street art. Released at $65 with a Verisart digital certificate of authenticity.
Why It Matters
Tribal Anniversary marks a 35-year milestone for Tribal, one of the few surviving early streetwear brands, through a Fairey-designed mandala built to express harmony and unity. The print documents a friendship and creative kinship that, per the accompanying statements, traces back to a 432F show in San Diego that Bobby Tribal calls a birthplace of streetwear, where East Coast and West Coast brands first showed together. Fairey deliberately combines motifs from both Tribal and OBEY cultures, making the mandala a visual record of two parallel streetwear and street-art lineages. For collectors, the appeal is twofold: the mandala format showcases Fairey's decorative, pattern-driven design language, while the anniversary subject gives the piece documentary significance within streetwear history. At an edition of 300 it is the more limited of the affordable 2024 Obey Giant releases, and its $65 price keeps it accessible. The collaboration narrative, with testimony from Bobby Tribal about decades of mutual respect and his own collecting of Fairey's work, adds a personal dimension that distinguishes the print from a generic pattern piece. It rewards buyers interested in the cultural crossover between street art and streetwear.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors who appreciate Fairey's mandala and pattern-based designs and those interested in streetwear history and brand collaborations. The harmony-and-unity mandala, blending Tribal and OBEY motifs, makes a visually balanced, decorative wall piece that reads well centered in a grouping or on its own. At $65 in an edition of 300 it is accessible yet the smaller run of the affordable 2024 releases. The 35th-anniversary subject gives it appeal to Tribal fans and streetwear collectors beyond Fairey's core audience. It pairs naturally with the catalog's other mandala and OBEY-pattern works for buyers building a decorative or collaboration-focused grouping.
Historical Context
Tribal Anniversary commemorates 35 years of the Tribal streetwear brand and continues Fairey's long engagement with mandala and decorative pattern work within his contemporary output. The accompanying statements situate the collaboration in early streetwear history, citing the 432F shows in San Diego as a formative meeting ground for East and West Coast brands and the place Fairey and Bobby Tribal first met. The print reflects Fairey's roots in street art, graffiti culture, and design, and his decades-long network of creative relationships. As a mandala symbolizing harmony and unity, it extends a recurring motif in his catalog while serving a specific anniversary purpose tied to streetwear's evolution.
FAQ
What does this print celebrate?
Tribal Anniversary celebrates 35 years of the streetwear brand Tribal and its founder Bobby Tribal. Fairey designed it as a mandala symbolizing harmony and unity, intentionally combining elements that have been part of both the Tribal and OBEY cultures over those 35 years.
Why is it designed as a mandala?
Fairey chose a mandala to symbolize harmony and unity, bringing together things that might not obviously go together but that have shaped both brands. The format reflects his recurring use of decorative, pattern-driven design across his catalog.
What is the edition size and format?
It is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 300, measuring 18 x 24 inches. It comes with a Verisart digital certificate of authenticity and was released at $65.
How are Fairey and Tribal connected?
Per the statements, Fairey and Bobby Tribal first met at a 432F show in San Diego, which Bobby describes as where streetwear was born. Both came from the streets, working with graffiti writers, street artists, and designers, and have maintained mutual respect over decades.
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.