Introduction

In Tokyo, Prada presents Simon Fujiwara’s exhibition Who the Bær – a new especially conceived version of the show presented for the first time at Fondazione Prada’s Milan venue in 2020.

Who the Bær is a cartoon character created by Simon Fujiwara that takes inspiration from fairy tales, fantasy literature, animation and theme park worlds. “Who”, as they are known, seems to have not yet developed a strong personality or instincts. They have no fixed identity, no gender, and no sexuality. Who does not even seem to have a clear design but is a being in the making, a self-creation. Who only knows that they are an image, and they seek to define themselves traversing a “Whoniverse” of images. Who the Bær’s world is a flat, online domain of pictures, yet one full of endless possibilities.

Through the coming-of-age story of Who, Fujiwara explores a plurality of topics belonging to different realms: from the climate collapse to cultural appropriation, plastic surgery to Pop-art. Who the Bær can be interpreted as a distorted mirror of our society obsessed with spectacle, self-representation and the search for a “true self”.

A series of new drawings, collages, sculptures, and animations introduces the Japanese audience to Who the Bær’s perennial quest for an authentic self. The exhibition set-up unfolds as a series of pastel-colored carpeted areas exploring the many facets of Who and marking the stages of their chaotic journey. Through the all-consuming desires of a cartoon bear, we experience the external world as little more than a repertoire of stereotypical images and consumable backdrops for ever new adventures.