Legal Bribery (On Wood), 2016

Shepard Fairey's Legal Bribery (2016) is a screenprint on wood panel, number 4 from an edition of just 6. Two suited arms meet in a handshake at the centre, one cuff fastened with a skull and crossbones, the other with a dollar sign, beneath crossed American flags and a radiant dollar emblem. The text frames the deal as policy rather than scandal: "Legal Bribery. It's not a Dream! It's the American System!", closing with the rallying line "End Corruption! Restore Democracy". Made in a US election year, it is one of Fairey's most direct statements on money in politics, rendered in his signature red, black and gold.Fairey (b. 1970) emerged from the skateboarding and punk scenes with the OBEY Giant sticker campaign he began in 1989, and reached a global audience with his 2008 Hope portrait of Barack Obama. His works on wood panel are made in far smaller numbers than his screenprints on paper, and the crackled finish of the surface gives the image the weight and presence of an object.Panel: 24 × 18 in (61 × 46 cm). Signed and numbered 4/6 by the artist. Offered in a wood floater frame.