Simon Fujiwara, Likeness, 2018

'Likeness' presents a wax figure of Anne Frank produced from an amalgamation of images, sculptures and other wax figures of Anne Frank including the Madame Tussaud’s figure in Berlin. It shows Anne writing her diary at her desk, surrounded by objects referencing her hiding place. Eternally fragile, frozen in time, she turns to smile at the public. How much of a likeness the figure is unknown, given the few documents available to the wax sculpture production team who are former employees of Madame Tussaud’s. Taking to the extreme this irresistible need for image production – already evidenced by endless streams of selfie-taking museum visitors -, Simon Fujiwara uses a Bolt camera robot to film the wax Anne Frank, scrutinized in a near forensic manner. As a choreographer of images, he explores the camera's ability to surround, document and dramatise the figure with disconcerting precision. Like a counterpoint to the Lafayette Anticipations machine-building, 'Likeness' foretells of a mechanised world in which the notion of a collective memory clashes with the cold and invasive objectivity of moves once performed by humans.

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Simon Fujiwara