An out-sized, white monkey with a fierce expression greeted passersby and car drivers at the “public space karlsplatz.” Maybe it reminded the viewers of a monkey from the Buddhist-shintoist belief that “sees not, hears not, speaks not.” Maybe one or another onlooker tried to sense the symbolic meaning of the monkey as fable animal in which the animal is either depicted as particularly stupid or extremely cunning.

For the designer and graphic artist Stefan Sagmeister, the inflatable object represents human hubris, prejudices and self-importance. Thus he stated that all human conflicts in the course of history could be reduced to a single sentence: Everybody thinks they are right. So with his huge ape Sagmeister was inviting to critical self-analysis.