JR as he would like to be known is a Parisian Photographer who found his camera in Paris Subway and from there decided to make the world his gallery. He exhibits his colossal Prints of human faces on buildings, buses, monuments. Each work has a statement, a message that would contribute as a step to turn the world around, or rather inside out.
“I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we’ll turn the world…INSIDE OUT.” JR
His identity, for security reasons, is unknown. Another Banksy that proved through graffiti we can send large messages that all people can see and read. Today he is a winner of the TED Prize 2011, and his work proves to be worthy of the award.
One of his famous projects is “Women Are Heroes” 2008 a project underlining the dignity of women who are the target of conflict. Several Monumental Photo of women were plastered on houses and buildings in Africa, Brazil, India & Cambodia.
Another interesting Project is “Face 2 Face” 2007. In this project JR posted HUGE portraits of both Israelis & Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on both sides of the security fence/separation barrier.
As he remains anonymous and doesn’t explain his huge full frame portraits of people making faces, JR leaves the space empty for an encounter between the subject/protagonist and the passer-by/interpreter.
This is what JR is working on. Raising questions...
ARTSIE ARTSY 