Before it was a clothing brand, OBEY was a piece of street art. Behind this now-famous word is an artist, Shepard Fairey, who turned a simple sticker into one of the most reproduced images in the world. A story of skateboarding, punk and posters.
A skater's sticker turned phenomenon
Shepard Fairey grows up in Charleston, South Carolina. As a teenager, he discovers skateboarding and punk rock, and starts drawing T-shirts and stickers for his friends.
In 1989, while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, he makes a sticker from a photo of the wrestler André the Giant, with the words "André the Giant Has a Posse". At first, it's a joke between skaters. But Fairey sticks it everywhere, others photocopy and reproduce it, and the sticker spreads far beyond his city.
OBEY: a message taken from the movies
André's face is then simplified into a high-contrast graphic portrait, with a single word: OBEY. The nod comes from John Carpenter's 1988 film They Live, in which special sunglasses reveal hidden orders, like "OBEY", behind advertising.
Fairey's goal: to push passers-by to question the images and messages around them. The more people wonder what this face posted everywhere means, the better the work works.
A style inspired by propaganda and punk
A limited palette (red, black, cream), flat colours, bold type: Shepard Fairey's artwork borrows from propaganda posters, Russian constructivism, punk record sleeves and skate culture. He twists these codes to carry messages about peace, the environment or freedom of speech.
In 2008, his Hope poster, a portrait of Barack Obama, goes around the world. The work is now part of the collections of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
Obey Clothing: art to wear
In 2001, Shepard Fairey launches Obey Clothing, a natural extension of his work as an artist. The clothes, influenced by workwear and military surplus, serve as a canvas for his graphics: printed tees, sweatshirts, caps, jackets. You'll find his icons, like André's face or the famous eyes on the Eyes Icon T-shirt and the Quarter Eye Icon.
The Obey collection at Circle Shop
Graphic tees, sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, caps and beanies: check out the whole Obey collection online, or come and see it in our shop in Avignon, at 3 rue Folco de Baroncelli.