Politics

Artist Behind Obama’s Iconic ‘HOPE’ Poster Unveils One for Harris

‘FORWARD’

Shepard Fairey was inspired by one of the Harris campaign’s slogans: “We are not going back.”

A portrait created by artist Shepard Fairey for Kamala Harris
Art by Shepard Fairey / Reuters

Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the now-iconic 2008 “Hope” poster of Barack Obama for the future president’s first campaign, on Thursday unveiled his depiction of Vice President Kamala Harris, seen in blue and white above the word “Forward.” Like Obama, Harris is looking up and to her left. In releasing his latest work of art, Fairey cited with approval what has become one of the Harris campaign’s slogans: “We are not going back.” “These words from Kamala Harris summarize the moment we are in, and in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!” Fairey wrote in a statement on his website, which included a voter registration link. Fairey added that he was not paid to produce it, writing, “I created this work purely in pursuit of a better future.” Fairey did not create a similar piece for either Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign or Joe Biden’s four years later. During Donald Trump’s campaign against Clinton, Fairey depicted him in the style of Big Brother from George Orwell’s novel, 1984.