Shepard Fairey, the artist and activist behind the iconic Barack Obama “HOPE” poster that grew to symbolize the former president’s 2008 campaign, revealed his latest political work of Vice President Kamala Harris on social media Thursday.
The new design from Fairey — the founder of OBEY Clothing, whose Obama design was later added to the National Portrait Gallery — depicts Harris looking upward in a mostly blue and green sketch. The word “FORWARD” appears at the bottom of the print while a red, circular KH symbol is seen to her side.
Fairey, in a post to his @obeygiant Instagram page, pointed to the Democratic nominee’s “We’re not going back” call and wrote that the words “summarize the moment we are in.”
“And in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!” Fairey wrote.
He continued, “While we have not achieved all the goals we might be seeking, we are making progress – all in the face of expanding threats and regressive political adversaries.”
Fairey emphasized that “we are not going back” and pointed to a “very real opportunity to move forward.”
“If we act we can move forward our desire for a healthy planet, for corporate accountability, toward equality and away from racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia, for equitable access to opportunity, for full access to the medical care we want or need, for fair and just immigration policies,” he wrote.
Fairey, who said in 2015 that Obama didn’t live up to his “HOPE” poster, described the Democratic ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as “our best chance to move forward.”
“They are our best chance to push back on encroaching fascism and threats to democracy, and our best chance for creating the world we all desire and deserve,” wrote the artist, who encouraged followers to check their voter registration status.
“Politics is messy … but messy is no excuse for checking out. Messy is the work and the work can be joyful. Messy is what it takes to get through the daunting mess in pursuit of a better future. But we only win if we show up,” he said.
He later referred to the Harris “FORWARD” design as a “tool of grassroots activism for all to use non-commercially,” adding that he was not paid for the work and won’t receive a financial benefit from it.
Fairey’s art shares the same word as an electric new portrait of Harris by New York City illustrator and street artist Jacob Thomas, who recently told HuffPost that he imagined the Democratic nominee bringing a “jolt of energy” to her party when coming up with his piece.
“In my mind I was seeing lightning strike the flag and causing the stripes to vibrate with energy,” said Thomas, whose design sees Harris in front of an American flag-like design with the text “FORWARD” below her.
