Shepard Fairey unveils largest work to date in Sydney. The artwork is a 50m-high and 30m-wide woman with flowers behind her ears, holding a giant waratah – the floral emblem of New South Wales – and the word “OBEY”. It will take around 400 cans of spray paint to complete. Fairey, the artist behind the Obama ‘Hope’ poster is still passionate about politics from a grassroots level, which he says is needed now more than ever under the Trump administration.
He highlights “the scapegoating of Muslims and the corporatisation of US politics – and the need for finance reform” as issues that concern him.
But he’s buoyed by the resurgence of activism in America.
“One of the things that was always great about grassroots movements is like-minded people finding each other. Look at the Occupy movement and the belief that a small group of people can provide family for each other, and do good in the world. Right now in the US there’s a lot of cynicism, a lot of people are failing to connect.”
Fairey wants people to “start conversations with different people and explore different strategies for change,” he says. “It’s not hopeless.”