The Work

Wave of Distress reworks the most iconic image in Japanese art, Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa, into a warning about the health of the world's oceans. In Fairey's hands the cresting swell is rendered in his signature crisp, poster-flat line, its foam curling into decorative arabesques that recall Art Nouveau as much as ukiyo-e. What looks at first like pure ornament carries a darker charge: the wave is not simply powerful but distressed, a natural system pushed to its breaking point by pollution and human indifference.

This sepia variant trades the cooler blues associated with the design for warm, aged tones that lend the print the weathered look of an antique broadside or a faded environmental poster. The effect deepens the sense of urgency, as though the image were a relic recovered from a future in which the warning went unheeded. It is a characteristic Fairey move, wrapping activist content inside a seductive, collectible surface so that the message travels further.

Hand-signed and numbered 148/200 in pencil by Shepard Fairey.

Details at a Glance

Artist	Shepard Fairey
Title	Wave of Distress (Sepia)
Year	—
Medium	Screen print on cream Speckletone paper
Edition	Signed & numbered 148/200
Size	24 x 18 in
Subject	Environmental / ocean health
Signature	Hand-signed and numbered 148/200 in pencil by Shepard Fairey
Condition	Very Good

Condition

Graded Very Good. Please review every photo closely — the images are part of the description and show the actual piece you will receive.

Authenticity & Provenance

Hand-signed and numbered 148/200 in pencil by Shepard Fairey. This is an authentic Shepard Fairey / OBEY Giant limited-edition print.

This release is documented in the Gauntlet Gallery Shepard Fairey reference archive at fairey.gauntlet.gallery.

Sold by Gauntlet Gallery, a specialist dealer in authenticated street art and pop art. Questions are welcome before purchase.

Shipping & Handling

• Ships flat-rolled in a heavy-duty tube, protected in an archival sleeve, fully insured.
• Packed and shipped from a smoke-free studio in Concord, CA.
• Combined shipping available — message before paying.