SHEPARD FAIREY: OUT OF PRINT

ANNOUNCING BOOK TOURBOOK IS BACK IN PARIS FROM NOV 13 TO NOV 16, AND WILL TOUR IN TWO NEW COMPLEMENTARY DESTINATIONS: OBEY ART SPACE BERLIN, AND AMSTERDAM.AGAIN, BOOK IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SEEMS: A SELECTION OF NEW AND OLD BOOKS, CAREFULLY CURATED BY ARTIST VICTOR UNWIN, IN COLLABORATION WITH PUBLISHING HOUSE KERMESSE, ALONG WITH LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES.ART BOOKS, LITERATURE BOOKS, DESIGN BOOKS, FASHION BOOKS, CONCEPTUAL BOOKS, BOOKS ON BOOKS... EACH BOOK EVENT IS THE OCCASION TO REFLECT ON THE INFINITE CREATIVE, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND POETICAL POTENTIAL IN THE ACT OF READING. EACH "BOOK" MOMENT IS A THREE-DAY EVENT: A POP-UP BOOKSHOP WITH A PUBLIC PROGRAM OF TALKS AND ART/PERFORMANCE RELATED PROPOSALS, AND A COLLAB MERCH DROP. FOR ITS SECOND PARISIAN EDITION, "BOOK" WILL BE TEAMING UP AGAIN WITH CAHIER CENTRAL BOOKSHOP.THREE DAYS OF BOOKSHOP, BOOK LAUNCHES, BOOK INSTALLATIONS, AND BOOK TALKS, WITHCÉLIA BOULESTEIX @CELIABOULESTEIXSIMON GERARD @KERMESSE.COOLMASALA NOIR @MASALANOIRIBRAHIM MEÏTÉ SIKELY @FRAMBOISESALADECHRISTELLE OYIRI @CRYSTALLMESSVICTOR UNWIN @VICTORUNWINJOIN US FOR THE OPENING WITH DRINKS NOV 13 FROM 6-8PM.OBEY PARIS 40 RUE ÉTIENNE MARCEL 75002 PARIS, FRANCE

Thanks to everyone that came out to (Halo)WEEN last night. Feeling a little slow at work today but it was worth it. Big love to @smilegoth and @untitledhalo for all your hard work. Also thanks to everyone that played. @avalonlurks @jasmine.johnson
@nico.minajj @dimeshort4diamondprincess @currentjoys @irene.leeee @dalhaus_ and @carllovestrand  Hope to see you out again soon and stay safe out there tonight. Happy Halloween!photos: morgnar

Last week was an exciting one in Berlin. On Thursday, Shepard Fairey opened his exhibition “Photo Synthesis” at Fotografiska. The show traces his creative journey, from early wheat-paste street pieces and screen printing to digital collage and new works made specifically for this exhibition. It highlights how photography has continually inspired and shaped his artistic evolution, bringing together defining works alongside new creations that continue to transform cityscapes.The evening began with a performance by Berlin-based garage duo Cava, followed by a Q&A with Shepard Fairey hosted by Lodown Magazine’s editor-in-chief, and longtime friend, Sven Fortmann. After exploring the impressive Fotografiska building and the exhibition itself, the night closed with a DJ set by Shepard Fairey.With a mild hangover but high spirits, we gathered again the next evening at the OBEY Art Space to celebrate a 30-year friendship between Shepard Fairey’s OBEY and Thomas Marecki’s Lodown. Their shared roots in skate, surf, and street culture, a mix of activism, DIY creativity, and freedom, shaped a generation and continue to inspire today. From Cold War West Berlin to 1990s Southern California, their work has always carried a restless urge to disrupt and connect.“Today, those signals are fractured. The Pax Americana has crumbled, elites have failed, and trust has decayed.
 A reset is no longer optional. It must come from below, through art, through voices unafraid, through new networks of resistance and connection.”A special print and accompanying tees were created for the occasion. Both are now available at Fotografiska and online via Lodown.Pictures by Tilman Kerber and Julia Schoierer

We would love to introduce @perryier to OBEY. A film around NYC by @n.rollingsPhotos by @andreytarasovsMusic by @untitledhaloSong: El Prado Free Style

For Holiday 25, we worked with James Winstanley. Originally from the Peak District and now based in London, James is a creative blending analogue, digital, and experimental techniques. “The tone for OBEY Winter 2025 was set by the summer campaign I shot earlier in the year, something fun, slightly offbeat, and a little otherworldly. The brief was interpreted as a “festive but not Christmassy get-together amongst friends”, a sort of non-religious, non-time-specific celebration filled with warmth, comfort, and questionable party snacks (pineapple covered in cheese and cherries, anyone?)Shot in my house over a sunny day, we blacked out the windows until nobody quite knew what time it was. That discombobulated, homely feeling became the mood of the whole campaign. Cosy, familiar, yet just off enough to feel surreal.Repetition was key again: the same faces appearing in different roles, because everyone knows you can’t have a non-religious, non-time-specific celebration with just two people. By the end of it, the house reeked of a half-eaten cheese plate and a faint whiff of accomplishment. A playful mix of unease, warmth, and celebration… that’s the space I like to sit in. Always grateful to OBEY for trusting me to make something weird, festive, and real.”Creative Director, Photographer, Videographer, Producer: @jamwinstanModels: @ashleyplomerashleyplomer @rosarugosaaaaaaAssist: @peter.easondanielsMusic: @rorylovelessProp hand: @rosawhiteley

This past Friday, we celebrated the opening of “Middle Distance”, an exhibition by Ryan Hawaii. Much love to everyone who came through.This body of work explores Hawaii’s ongoing engagement with spiritual themes. A central motif is the eye, an allegory for life itself: the centre symbolising existence, while the chambers on either side embody “before life” and “afterlife.” Life, suspended between these two realms, becomes the “middle distance”, a space filled with its rich spectrum of experiences, both positive and negative.Another key theme is the transcendence of place. Through paintings and drawings, Hawaii takes viewers on a journey across physical and mental landscapes, transporting from Cuba to Morocco to London, and into the surrealist territories of his dreams. These subconscious spaces form yet another “middle distance,” bridging reality and abstraction.The exhibition reflects Hawaii’s long-standing connection to Amsterdam, which is also a “middle distance” between London and the Rhode Island streets were OBEY was born. The show serves as a the platform for Hawaii’s meeting of the minds with legendary founder Shepard Fairey.The exhibition runs until 31st October. OBEY Art Space Amsterdam | Runstraat, 25A special thank you to Kruz Leone and Styn for the fierce energy and music.Cheers Peroni + Viper for providing the beverages.Captured by Aryan Hamrani.