Simon Fujiwara Who is She? Who is He?, 2021
Charcoal, pastel, pencil, inkjet print on paper
48 x 35,7 x 3,5 cm (18 7/8 x 14 1/8 x 1 3/8 in) each (18 parts, framed)
Framed in pink and blue, these eighteen works on paper center on Who’s exploration of a gendered identity, in this case by adapting representations of women and men, their anatomy or paraphernalia of motherhood or fatherhood, traditional gender roles, pairing found images or diagrams with drawing in charcoal, pastel and/or pencil. Some works also draw on art historical references: a portrait in a style associated with early 20th century cubism and a reproduction of Gustave Courbet’s infamous painting of a nude female torso from 1866 entitled L’Origine du monde, its reinterpretation by the French artist Orlan entitled The Origin of War, Tom of Finland, among other.
Simon Fujiwara’s project Who the Baer was developed during the lockdown in the spring of 2020. The artist created a unique cartoon character in the form of a denim wearing bear with a golden heart and an uncontrollably long tongue, that seemingly has no gender, race, sexuality or even a clear design. Without an identity, Who exists only as an image, a status that allows them the freedom to roam a world of online images, appropriating characters, identities, aesthetics and guises in a greedy search for a ‘self’.
Fujiwara’s existential cartoon character oscillates between subject and symbol, being and thing and is a tool for the artist to investigate cultural anxieties around identity and its relationship to the performativity of image culture. Through Who the Baer, Fujiwara explores complex topics using the reductive logic of the cartoon universe to expose the normalizing power of the capitalist image culture we inhabit.
Index of motifs, left suite, from top to bottom, from left to right:
1. L'Origine du monde by Gustave Courbet (Collection Musée d'Orsay)
2. Drawing and a screenshot of an online article
3. Stock image of woman and a mirror
4. Fragment of animation character with a drawing
5. An image of a video influencer-make-up artist with a drawing
6. Stock image of wedding photo
7. Pink beanie "Pussyhat" (in reference to knitted hats worn in 2017 Women March)
8. Stock image of baby stroller
9. Head of a Woman by Pablo Picasso
Right suite, from top to bottom, from left to right:
1. L'Origine de la Guerre by Orlan
2. Diagram explaining patriarchy, extended by a drawing
3. Anatomical drawing of male body parts
4. Image of Elon Musk in front of his SpaceX Starship prototype
5. Photo of a football fan
6. Dominique Strauss-Kahn
7. Drawing by Tom of Finland
8. Eames Lounge Chair
9. Sculpture "Tommie," as a reference to a commemorative project to mark a centenary of the end of the First World War where identical silhouettes were distibuted across various locations in the UK
Simon Fujiwara’s project Who the Baer was developed during the lockdown in the spring of 2020. The artist created a unique cartoon character in the form of a denim wearing bear with a golden heart and an uncontrollably long tongue, that seemingly has no gender, race, sexuality or even a clear design. Without an identity, Who exists only as an image, a status that allows them the freedom to roam a world of online images, appropriating characters, identities, aesthetics and guises in a greedy search for a ‘self’.
Fujiwara’s existential cartoon character oscillates between subject and symbol, being and thing and is a tool for the artist to investigate cultural anxieties around identity and its relationship to the performativity of image culture. Through Who the Baer, Fujiwara explores complex topics using the reductive logic of the cartoon universe to expose the normalizing power of the capitalist image culture we inhabit.
Index of motifs, left suite, from top to bottom, from left to right:
1. L'Origine du monde by Gustave Courbet (Collection Musée d'Orsay)
2. Drawing and a screenshot of an online article
3. Stock image of woman and a mirror
4. Fragment of animation character with a drawing
5. An image of a video influencer-make-up artist with a drawing
6. Stock image of wedding photo
7. Pink beanie "Pussyhat" (in reference to knitted hats worn in 2017 Women March)
8. Stock image of baby stroller
9. Head of a Woman by Pablo Picasso
Right suite, from top to bottom, from left to right:
1. L'Origine de la Guerre by Orlan
2. Diagram explaining patriarchy, extended by a drawing
3. Anatomical drawing of male body parts
4. Image of Elon Musk in front of his SpaceX Starship prototype
5. Photo of a football fan
6. Dominique Strauss-Kahn
7. Drawing by Tom of Finland
8. Eames Lounge Chair
9. Sculpture "Tommie," as a reference to a commemorative project to mark a centenary of the end of the First World War where identical silhouettes were distibuted across various locations in the UK
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