Simon Fujiwara Who's Fridays for Future?, 2024

Who's Fridays for Future? is part of Simon Fujiwara's larger project featuring his original cartoon character Who the Bær as they explore different important events throughout history. This work has Who take the form of the climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg, and refers to the climate activism group Fridays for Future in its title. 

This work is executed in ink on paper collage. Who, in their search of identity, is transformed into two versions of Thunberg. The larger figure in the center of the work, wears a bright yellow raincoat with a hat underneath the hood, underneath which two braids are seen blowing in the wind. The figure's expression is troubled and anxious. Their mouth is open in exclaim, revealing their long pink tongue which extends down the composition, golden liquids are seen dripping from the mouth and hat. An opening in the raincoat reveals a second, smaller figure sitting on top of an iceberg in the ocean holding up a sign that reads: SKOLSTREJK FOR WHO?. In the background various industrial factory chimneys release thick, dark smoke obscuring the otherwise blue sky. The clouds release golden drops, while golden liquid drips down the sides of the factory chimneys. 

Fridays for Future is the activist group founded in 2018 by Greta Thunberg and her supporters after a three-week school strike for climate crisis awareness in Sweden. Led by the youth of the coming-of-age generation, they aim to spark change in administrations, governments, and international organizations by means of effective, resilient action. SKOLSTREJK is Swedish for school strike, referring to the original demonstration that sparked the creation of the association, while signaling a continuous need for these protests to further their revolutionary climate agenda.