Vintage Crystal Castle

This rare vintage Crystal Castles shirt features the haunting artwork from the band’s third studio album, (III), released in 2012. The graphic is a stylized rendering of an award-winning photograph by Spanish photojournalist Samuel Aranda, depicting a Yemeni woman named Fatima al-Qaws cradling her son, Zayed, after he was exposed to tear gas during an anti-government protest in Sana’a in 2011. Frontwoman Alice Glass chose this “Arab Pietà” image to reflect the album’s core themes of political, religious, and societal oppression, viewing it as a manifesto for the record’s bleak and dystopian sound. While the use of the image on merchandise sparked significant controversy and accusations of “exploitation” within the photojournalism community, Aranda defended the collaboration, stating that the subjects had given their consent and that the band aimed to bring global attention to the human rights struggles in Yemen.

Size 71x55cm
Condition 9.5/10