BOOK: JR-Can Art Change the World?, Phaidon Publications

For almost 20 years, JR has been giving a voice to people from all over the world, using art as a means of expression or empowerment for those whose voices are not normally heard. Filled with stunning photography, the monograph “Can Art Change the World?” by Phaidon Publications charts JR’s widereaching trajectory and a range of collaborative projects executed across the globe. Created in close collaboration with the artist, it features chapters on each of JR’s major bodies of work – from “Expo2Rue” which launched his career as a street artist, to “The Gun Chronicles: A Story of America” published in Time magazine in 2018. A specially commissioned graphic novel by comic artist Joseph Remnant and a survey essay by Nato Thompson tell JR’s fascinating story. In 2006, street artist JR achieved Portrait of a Generation, in the bourgeois districts of Paris. This illegal project became official when the Paris City Hall wrapped its building with JR’s photos. In 2007, he managed to defy expert’s predictions of failure and created the largest illegal exhibition ever. His street artwork was placed as huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in a variety of Palestinian and Israeli cities. Not only that but he bravely engaged in illegal activity by bypassing authorities and securities on both sides of the separation wall in this location. Over the years JR has constantly engaged his street artwork audience and has presented numerous exhibitions and projects to include, Women are Heroes, The Wrinkles of the City, and InsideOut. His work has touched thousands of city inhabitants and often displaying culture, history, and memory for a particular location. His work can be found worldwide, and he has touched cities such as Cartagena, Shanghai, and Los Angeles. His latest projects took him to Tehachapi maximum security jail in California to meet and learn the stories of convicts, former incarcerated men, their family members, prison staff as well as survivors of violent crimes and in New York City to capture the faces of those who make the city alive.-Dimitris Lempesis