based in Berlin: Simon Fujiwara
08 Jun - 07 Aug 2011
based in Berlin
SIMON FUJIWARA, PHALLUSIES (AN ARABIAN MYSTERY), 2010
Simon Fujiwara's works emerge from scripted narratives based on real and fictive archives that question the possibility of manipulating history and affecting collective memory through the individual experience.
Fujiwara's installation Phallusies (An Arabian Mystery, 2010) tells the true story of the discovery of a giant, ancient stone phallus beneath the foundations of a new museum building, somewhere in the Arabian Desert. No records of its existence or disappearance exist. Some say it was destroyed, others saw an unlabelled crate departing for an unknown destination. The truth is in the hands of four British men who were working on the museum's construction site. However, when Fujiwara commissioned them to re-fabricate the phallus as they remembered it, arguments ensued. One witness remembers testicles, another claims it was simply a column. Some say it was three metres long, others eight. Size is not the question here – it is the shape that counts. But like any good erotic story, the truth is a slippery thing...
Simon Fujiwara (born 1982 in London) lives and works in Berlin. He studies Architecture at Cambridge University and Fine Art at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Städelschule), Frankfurt am Main.Recent solo exhibitions include Letters from Mexic', Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, and Phallusies, Gio Marconi, Milan (2011); Welcome to the Hotel Munber, Neue Alte Brücke, Frankfurt am Main, and Art Basel 41 – Art Statement (2010). Selected group exhibitions include Open House, Singapore Biennale 2011; 29th São Paulo Biennale, and Manifesta 8 Biennial, Murcia (2010). In 2010 he was the recipient of both the Baloise Prize at Art Basel and the Cartier Award, Frieze Art Fair, London.
based in Berlin
The exhibition based in Berlin invites visitors from Berlin and around the world to view the contemporary art of Berlin. Since the fall of the wall Berlin has developed into one of the world’s most important centers for the production of contemporary art. As a creative and cosmopolitan city, it draws many artists from Germany and abroad.
From June 8th to July 24th, the exhibition will show – in a format exemplary for the city’s dynamic art production – the work of some 80 emerging artists who live and work in Berlin. The exhibition covers the full range of contemporary art practices from paintings and drawings to sculpture, photography, film and video, as well as installations and text based works. Many of the participating artists have developed new works especially for based in Berlin. Several of Berlin’s well-known project spaces were also invited to use the venues within the exhibition to present selections of their own programme.
The studio building in Monbijoupark in Berlin-Mitte is the central exhibition. Starting on June 8th, film screenings, concerts and artist talks will take place on site every evening . The events include evenings organised by Berlin art and city magazines as well as artist performances and free concerts. The Monbijou Bar is open every evening until midnight. Starting on June 8th, the Atelierhaus at Monbijoupark, is open daily from 12 pm to 12 am. Free admission.
The exhibition continues at the following locations:
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein n.b.k.
Berlinische Galerie
www.basedinberlin.com
SIMON FUJIWARA, PHALLUSIES (AN ARABIAN MYSTERY), 2010
Simon Fujiwara's works emerge from scripted narratives based on real and fictive archives that question the possibility of manipulating history and affecting collective memory through the individual experience.
Fujiwara's installation Phallusies (An Arabian Mystery, 2010) tells the true story of the discovery of a giant, ancient stone phallus beneath the foundations of a new museum building, somewhere in the Arabian Desert. No records of its existence or disappearance exist. Some say it was destroyed, others saw an unlabelled crate departing for an unknown destination. The truth is in the hands of four British men who were working on the museum's construction site. However, when Fujiwara commissioned them to re-fabricate the phallus as they remembered it, arguments ensued. One witness remembers testicles, another claims it was simply a column. Some say it was three metres long, others eight. Size is not the question here – it is the shape that counts. But like any good erotic story, the truth is a slippery thing...
Simon Fujiwara (born 1982 in London) lives and works in Berlin. He studies Architecture at Cambridge University and Fine Art at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Städelschule), Frankfurt am Main.Recent solo exhibitions include Letters from Mexic', Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, and Phallusies, Gio Marconi, Milan (2011); Welcome to the Hotel Munber, Neue Alte Brücke, Frankfurt am Main, and Art Basel 41 – Art Statement (2010). Selected group exhibitions include Open House, Singapore Biennale 2011; 29th São Paulo Biennale, and Manifesta 8 Biennial, Murcia (2010). In 2010 he was the recipient of both the Baloise Prize at Art Basel and the Cartier Award, Frieze Art Fair, London.
based in Berlin
The exhibition based in Berlin invites visitors from Berlin and around the world to view the contemporary art of Berlin. Since the fall of the wall Berlin has developed into one of the world’s most important centers for the production of contemporary art. As a creative and cosmopolitan city, it draws many artists from Germany and abroad.
From June 8th to July 24th, the exhibition will show – in a format exemplary for the city’s dynamic art production – the work of some 80 emerging artists who live and work in Berlin. The exhibition covers the full range of contemporary art practices from paintings and drawings to sculpture, photography, film and video, as well as installations and text based works. Many of the participating artists have developed new works especially for based in Berlin. Several of Berlin’s well-known project spaces were also invited to use the venues within the exhibition to present selections of their own programme.
The studio building in Monbijoupark in Berlin-Mitte is the central exhibition. Starting on June 8th, film screenings, concerts and artist talks will take place on site every evening . The events include evenings organised by Berlin art and city magazines as well as artist performances and free concerts. The Monbijou Bar is open every evening until midnight. Starting on June 8th, the Atelierhaus at Monbijoupark, is open daily from 12 pm to 12 am. Free admission.
The exhibition continues at the following locations:
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein n.b.k.
Berlinische Galerie
www.basedinberlin.com