BLEK LE RAT - SHEEP

Screenprint on paper
Bon à Tirer proof, aside from the main edition of 145
56.5 × 57.5 cm
69.5 × 68 cm framed
Signed by Blek le Rat
Published by Black Rat Press
2006

Sheep marked a conceptual shift in Blek le Rat’s practice. Rather than focusing on the human figures that had populated much of his earlier street work, Blek introduced one of the most familiar symbols of the countryside into the urban environment.

The sheep appeared across cities including Paris, London, Florence, Buenos Aires, Leipzig, Prague and even Taipei, creating a deliberate contrast between the rural subject and the streets surrounding it. Removed from its expected setting, the familiar animal takes on a different character — immediate, unexpected and distinctly at odds with the city around it.

The motif also carries a literary connection to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince, in which the young prince famously asks the narrator to draw him a sheep.

This particular example is especially unusual. It is a Bon à Tirer proof — the artist-approved reference impression used to establish the finished edition before the main print run began. The standard edition of Sheep was published by Black Rat Press in 2006 in an edition of 145.

Professionally float-mounted and framed with UV-protective Acryguard acrylic glazing.

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