JR (Artist)
JR (born Jean René, 1983) is a French artist and photographer who describes himself as a “photograffeur” (photographer and graffeur). He is world-renowned for his monumental black-and-white photographic portraits, which he flyposts in public locations—often on a massive scale—transforming streets, favelas, and border walls into open-air art galleries.
Lead
JR (born Jean René, 1983) is a French artist and photographer who describes himself as a “photograffeur” (photographer and graffeur). He is world-renowned for his monumental black-and-white photographic portraits, which he flyposts in public locations—often on a massive scale—transforming streets, favelas, and border walls into open-air art galleries.
Background & Philosophy
JR began his career as a graffiti artist before finding a camera on the Paris Métro in 2001. He started documenting his friends’ street exploits and pasting the photos on walls.
His philosophy centers on the idea that the street is “the largest art gallery in the world.” By placing art in public spaces, he forces passersby to engage with subjects they might otherwise ignore—such as residents of the banlieues (Paris suburbs), elderly women in conflict zones, or inmates in maximum-security prisons. He insists on keeping his work free of corporate sponsorship to maintain its integrity.
Notable Projects
Face 2 Face (2007)
The largest illegal photography exhibition ever. JR and his team pasted massive portraits of Israelis and Palestinians—doing the same jobs (taxi drivers, cooks, religious leaders)—face-to-face on both sides of the separation wall and in surrounding cities. The project highlighted the shared humanity often obscured by political conflict.
Women Are Heroes (2008)
A project paying tribute to women who play essential roles in their societies but are often the primary victims of war and violence. JR pasted their eyes and faces on trains, buildings, and hillsides in Brazil, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Kenya.
Inside Out Project (2011)
Launched after JR won the TED Prize, this global participatory art project invites people to take their own portraits and paste them in their communities to support a cause. As of 2024, over 500,000 posters have been printed in more than 150 countries.
Tehachapi (2019)
JR pasted a massive mural in the yard of a maximum-security prison in California. The piece, visible from Google Earth, featured the portraits of current and former inmates, as well as prison staff, standing together.
The Wound (2021)
A trompe-l’œil installation on the façade of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, creating an illusion of a deep gash revealing the building’s interior, symbolizing the accessibility of culture during pandemic lockdowns.
Gallery
See Also
Status: draft