Fondazione Prada Milano and the works of Fujiwara: today 2 June special opening from 10 to 19

The work of Simon Fujiwara (London, 1982; lives and works in Berlin) is a personal investigation into the human desire that underlies tourist attractions, historical icons, celebrities, edutainment and neo-capitalism. Placed in this attractive and at the same time disturbing territory, Fujiwara's work reveals the paradox of the dual search for invention and authenticity in the culture we consume every day. In her recent exhibitions which include a full-scale reconstruction of the Anne Frank House (“Hope House”, 2017), a rebranding campaign by her high school art teacher (“Joanne”, 2016–2018), and the experience of a theme park that immerses us in the world of YouTube (“Empathy I”, 2018) where distorted visions of the real world can be traced through the fantastic, and sometimes distressing, imagery of the artist himself.
For this site-specific project conceived for the ground floor of Fondazione Prada's Podium, Simon Fujiwara introduces the public to the world of Who the Bær, an original cartoon character who inhabits a universe created by the artist. Who the Bær – or simply “Who” – is a * bear * without a clear character. He seems to have not yet developed a strong personality or instincts of his own. He doesn't have a history, a defined gender or even a sexuality, he just knows he is an image and tries to define himself in a world of other images. Who the Bær is located in a flat, online, visual environment, but full of infinite possibilities. Who can transform or adapt to any image he encounters, assuming the attributes and identities of whoever is depicted in it: human beings, animals or even objects. In this sense the universe of Who the Bær is a world of freedom: Who can be whoever he wants to be, Who can transcend time and space, Who can be both subject and object. Who the Bær may never even be able to overcome its one real challenge: to become something more than just an image.
In its exhibition Fujiwara tells the audience about a training path punctuated by numerous happy or traumatic events. From focus groups to therapy sessions, from plastic surgery to global travel, from sexual fantasies to dystopian dreams, the artist portrays the evolutionary process of a fictitious character starting from the perspective with which he interprets and appropriates the "real world" of images, distorting everything he sees into the absurd logic of his personal universe.
The adventures of Who the Bær are presented at the Prada Foundation inside a large labyrinth made almost entirely of cardboard, recyclable materials and hand-crafted elements. Walking through the installation which reproduces a* bear* in plan view, the public witnesses the birth of the cartoon character Who the Bær from an elementary graphic sign. Through a story made up of drawings, collages, sculptures and animations, visitors are witnesses of his perennial search for an authentic self. Inspired by traditional fiction as well as modern animated films, Fujiwara uses the mechanics of invention to explore some of the pleasures and traumas we face as part of a society possessed by images and spectacle.
The “Who the Bær” exhibition is accompanied by a publication of the Fondazione Prada Quaderni series which includes a conversation with the artist. The project, conceived to further develop on digital, expands into an open platform for sharing and insights with the Instagram account @whothebaer animated by Fujiwara and a web app conceived by the artist.T