No Future is a piece of artwork created by artist activist Shepard Fairey in collaboration with another artist activist, Ai Weiwei, as part of The Skateroom in 2017. This collaboration project involves printing the artist’s work on limited edition skateboards (also available in print version), and each of the artists’ work was created directly in response to the harsh political and social climate of the United States. No Future in particular is a response to the massive waves of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and the violence fueled by this overall bigotry following the 2016 presidential election. Ai Weiwei’s piece, a part in his ongoing project Study of Perspective, is also shown.
I believe it is very much relevant to this day, as fear has been a prevalent part of our lives for the better part of the past decade, whether it be economic, social, or racial issues throughout the entire nation and around the world. It almost seems hopeless, which makes it very fitting that Fairey named his piece No Future. The artist stated that, when creating this piece, he kept in mind the idea of Manifest Destiny and the idea that rich white men were justifying their greed by using the excuse of “God’s will,” and how he felt that it related to the political climate in 2016-2017. It still applies today, and some could argue that it has become significantly worse.
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