In the Sign of the Octopus

PRINT · 2021

IN THE SIGN OF THE OCTOPUS

An innocent boy with a holy book and the Propaganda Department logo, challenging perceptions of good and evil.

The "In the Sign of the Octopus" print serves as a haunting emblem of the Propaganda Department's pervasive influence. This artwork features an innocent boy clutching a holy book adorned with the Propaganda Department logo, symbolizing the organization's dominance. The image evokes unsettling parallels to the indoctrinated youth of Deutsche Junge from Nazi Germany, prompting contemplation on the layers of contradiction it embodies. The boy gazes upward with an air of pride, yet he is ensnared by the sinister, obsidian tentacles of an octopus, with the bold, almost promotional letters of "Propaganda Department" looming large. It forces viewers to question the organization's true nature, challenging preconceptions about all institutions, including religious groups. Its ambiguity makes it a rare and thought-provoking image, one that few dare to wear or display, as it teeters on the precipice between good and evil, much like the often contentious role of organized religions.

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A man seen from behind in the red In the Sign of the Octopus T-shirt, printed all over

The Propaganda Dept. octopus print carved as a linocut block on a print-shop bench, a roller and a pulled proof beside it

The red Propaganda Dept. print as a hand-hung fabric banner nailed to the brick wall of a dirty punk squat gig room, a drum riser and cables in front, a person seen from behind for scale

The red print as a postcard standing against a beer bottle on the bar of a small punk gig

The red octopus-boy illustration as an enamel lapel pin on the collar of a worn black leather jacket

The plum Propaganda Dept. print on the cloth cover of a worn hardbound notebook on a scratched desk in a dim squat room

The red octopus print on a round beer coaster on a bar counter

Three copies of the red print hanging on a line with wooden pegs to dry in a cramped screen printing workshop

The octopus print as a die-cut vinyl sticker on a scuffed black touring road case in a backstage corridor

The red Propaganda Dept. print in a black frame on a layered-flyer brick wall of a punk rock club, an amp blurred beside it

The poster pasted on a street wall in San Francisco, a passer-by in the street beside it

The Sleep print of an octopus around a head with an open brain, as a black-and-white photocopied flyer held in a tattooed hand, a stack of the same flyers tied with a rubber band behind

Poster showing a young boy holding a book in prayer, octopus tentacles in the background

The poster on a red ground, a young figure holding a book among black tentacles above the Propaganda Dept. script

STICKER · 2021 · San Francisco, USA

IN THE SIGN OF THE OCTOPUS

The Unseen Currents of Pacific Heights

In the bustling enclave of Pacific Heights, the Propaganda Department has unfurled "In the Sign of the Octopus," a stark sticker proclamation affixed to a mailbox, best experienced in the flesh. This art beckons San Francisco's denizens to embrace the creative veins that run through our urban fabric. The piece, revealing its true genius only upon close inspection, features hidden octopus tentacles ensnaring the devout figure within, hinting at the pervasive yet unseen forces at play in our daily lives. This print is not just seen but felt, a layered revelation that invites the viewer to look closer and discern the silent symphony of ideas it conducts.

The Propaganda Dept. octopus poster pasted on a US Mail box on a San Francisco street, in black and white.

A man in a cap presses the Propaganda Dept. poster flat while another pair of hands holds the sheet, in black and white.

MURAL · 2026 · Novi Sad, Serbia

In the Sign of the Octopus

Painted in June 2026 for Avijatičarska galerija (the Aviators' Gallery), the open-air gallery Jovan Obradović organises in Avijatičarsko naselje, the Aviators' Settlement of Novi Sad. He collected signatures from the whole neighbourhood for permission, then invited artists from Serbia and the region. About 100 of them now have work on its walls.

June 2026, the pale ornament and the first lines of the design on the red wall panel

June 2026, a painter works the stencil on the red wall

June 2026, the cut stencil pieces laid out on the steps in front of the passage

The white figure and the Propaganda Dept. lettering sprayed over the red pattern

The black layer on: octopus arms, shading and the eye in the triangle, the tape still on the wall

The finished In the Sign of the Octopus mural on the red wall

The finished mural seen from the side in the passage in Novi Sad

The PD monogram stencilled on a black cloth patch on a wall