But there's nothing funny about her latest work.
"We Stand for Law and Order" juxtaposes a photo of masked ICE agents with a historic image of Ku Klux Klan members clad in robes and hoods. Bold red numbers read "2025" on the ICE image and "1922" on the KKK image. In the Klan image, one of the people in the photo carries a sign that reads "We Stand for Law and Order."
“I wanted to make the comparison between ICE and the KKK because both groups employ the use of masks in order to give their members a sense of power, anonymity and impunity,” Fiorito says of the 40-foot-wide work of art. “Masks de-individualize the members of the group and make it easier for them to commit acts of violence and terror against others.”
The ICE image is not a single photo, but an AI-generated composite pieced together from multiple photographs. Darkened except for harsh, spotlight-like beams on the agents, the scene is positioned in front of small glowing neon letters spelling “ICE.” Their faces appear distorted, an effect Fiorito said amplified her message.
“The faces are weird, creepy and just frightening,” she says. “I wanted that feeling of how frightening this is.”
"We Stand for Law and Order" can be found on Grand Avenue between 10th and 11th avenues. It's on the reverse side of the billboard from “Swamp King,” a collage-style piece that depicts President Donald Trump as ruling over a disgusting quagmire that includes a crashed Tesla Cybertruck, a copy of Trump's book "The Art of the Deal" and an upside-down American Flag.
Fiorito has been creating billboard political art since the early 2000s, even using the same Grand Avenue billboard to display her thesis project.
“(Billboards are) a great way to interact and have a dialogue with the public”, Fiorito said. “Only so many people can go to a gallery, but hundreds or millions of people can see your billboard.”
This version of Karen Fiorito's anti-Trump billboard in downtown Phoenix debuted in 2017.
Lynn Trimble
The billboard is owned by the Grand Avenue Billboard Project, which is directed by Beatrice Moore. Independently and privately funded, the billboard provides a space for issue-oriented and political artwork. Past work by Fiorito that was shown on the billboard includes Trump surrounded by nuclear mushroom clouds and dollar signs that resembled swastikas; and Trump as a puppet manipulated by Elon Musk.
Fiorito says “We Stand for Law and Order” speaks for itself. She hopes it sparks discussions.
“It is important in these times for people to speak out in whatever way they can,” she says. “Not everyone can have a billboard, but there are creative ways we can all use our power and our voice to add to the dialogue.”
