Apocalypse 2 (Littmann P. 101) by Keith Haring presents a densely structured field of symbols against a stark white background. The work forms part of the artist’s Apocalypse series, where imagery becomes more layered and complex.

The image unfolds as a charged, almost architectural arrangement anchored by two reproductions of Mona Lisa positioned at the base of the image. Above them, Haring’s established —radiant babies, barking dogs, flying saucers and dancing figures—accumulates into a dense, interlocking field. A brilliant orange sun dominates the upper left quadrant, inscribed with linear marks and encircled by radiating black lines. The silkscreen medium reinforces the work’s clarity and immediacy. Flat, saturated colour zones are held within precise black contours, allowing disparate elements to coexist without dissolving into disorder. Acid yellow pathways move through the work, linking forms while preserving a sense of fragmentation. The juxtaposition of Leonardo da Vinci’s canonical image with Haring’s contemporary symbols establishes a direct dialogue between historical and modern visual systems, treating the Mona Lisa as a fixed point within an otherwise shifting field.

Produced in 1988, Apocalypse 2 sits within a period when Haring’s imagery became increasingly condensed, moving from singular motifs toward more expansive symbolic networks. The work draws on broader cultural anxieties of the period—nuclear threat, technological acceleration and environmental instability—without resolving into a single narrative. Instead, it maintains a tension between disorder and structure, collapse and regeneration. The interplay between these forces is central to the print’s impact.

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