Simon Fujiwara Who's Royal Whoness? (Family Portrait I), 2021
Pastel, pencil and inkjet prints on paper, framed in color frames
Set of 8 framed works arranged as a question mark
34 x 25,2 x 2,8 cm (13 3/8 x 9 7/8 x 1 1/8 in) each (8 parts) (framed)
198 x 93,5 cm (78 x 36 3/4 in) (overall)
34 x 25,2 x 2,8 cm (13 3/8 x 9 7/8 x 1 1/8 in) each (8 parts) (framed)
198 x 93,5 cm (78 x 36 3/4 in) (overall)
Installed in the shape of a question mark, the set of 8 collages from Simon Fujiwara's Who the Bær project, focuses on the British royal family. The shape of Fujiwara’s unique cartoon character in the form of a denim wearing bear with a golden heart and an uncontrollably long tongue, is superimposed on some of the represented figures.
Fujiwara’s existential cartoon character 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’. The small drawings and collages, in particular, represent the figure's exploration of contemporary social media. Through Who the Bær, 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
from left to right
Princess Diana
Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth, carried on a float during a state visit
Prince Philip, late husband of Queen Elizabeth, during state visit (famously prone to inappropriate remarks)
Texan millionaire John Bryan kissing the Duchess of York's toes. Shot by paparazzi in St Tropez, the 1992 image is credited with ending Sarah Ferguson's marriage to Prince Andrew who had announced their separation five months earlier
Meghan (Markle) Duchess of Sussex, during interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021
Princess Diana in wedding dress
Fujiwara’s existential cartoon character 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’. The small drawings and collages, in particular, represent the figure's exploration of contemporary social media. Through Who the Bær, 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
from left to right
Princess Diana
Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth, carried on a float during a state visit
Prince Philip, late husband of Queen Elizabeth, during state visit (famously prone to inappropriate remarks)
Texan millionaire John Bryan kissing the Duchess of York's toes. Shot by paparazzi in St Tropez, the 1992 image is credited with ending Sarah Ferguson's marriage to Prince Andrew who had announced their separation five months earlier
Meghan (Markle) Duchess of Sussex, during interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021
Princess Diana in wedding dress
Scroll