Simon Fujiwara Big Bootycelli Who?, 2023

Big Bootycelli Who? is part of Simon Fujiwara’s larger project, featuring his original cartoon character Who the Bær as they explore different iconic artworks throughout art history. In this series, Who is immersed in a world inspired by The Birth of Venus created by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510).

The work is created with the use of acrylic, pastel, charcoal, crayon and inkjet print on canvas. Who in their journey to explore their identity, take the form of Venus. There are some parts of the original composition visible as a background of the new form that is created. The facial features of Venus are changed into those of Who, while their characteristically long tongue is extended out, wrapping around their body with various golden liquids dripping off it. Who’s hips are overexaggerated and an inscription that starts from the top left part and runs to the bottom right part of the work, reads: Who is Booty-celli?, serving as a wordplay to the creator of the original work.

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli is a Renaissance masterpiece depicting the emergence of the goddess Venus from the sea foam, symbolizing beauty, love and fertility. Created in the mid 15th century, the painting exemplifies the era’s fascination with classical mythology and humanism.. An iconic work of Early Italian Renaissance art since since its creation, the painting has been reproduced numerous times and its iconography become a staple of popular culture.

Index: Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, (c. 1484- 1486), Uffizi Gallery, Florence