Category: Art

In the world of contemporary art, few figures are as enigmatic and influential as the French artist JR. Known for his large-scale photographic installations that challenge perceptions and provoke conversations, JR has left his mark on walls and buildings around the world. Over the last seven years, I’ve been slowly collecting a number of his pieces, and recently, I jumped at the chance to participate in one of his renowned Inside Out projects in Geneva, titled “Hope Away From Home.”

Inside Out Geneva: Portraits of Resilience

The Geneva project was marked by the occasion of the Global Refugee Forum, which brought together state leaders and refugee community leaders to find lasting solutions for refugees and their host communities. The portraits of refugee community leaders attending the event were pasted on Geneva’s historical walls, which have provided protection and safety for people forced to flee from persecution for many centuries. 

The project extended an invitation to passersby to have their portraits taken. Although my image didn’t make it up onto the wall, I was still able to participate, with the printout coming home with me instead.

Exploring Other JR Works

JR’s work extends far beyond the borders of Geneva. After truly discovering JR in 2018, when I bought a 99prints collaboration with Oliver Jeffers, my journey with his art took me to various locations, each telling a different story through his unique lens.

Inside Out Project: Nepal 2015 

The earthquake of April 25th, 2015, was a devastating moment in Nepal’s history, claiming around 9,000 lives and leaving a trail of destruction. Yet, amidst the rubble and grief, there emerged a compelling narrative of resilience and unity, which I witnessed on a trip in November of that year. While JR wouldn’t fall onto my radar for another couple of years, I did capture his “Hope for Tomorrow” project, set against the backdrop of Swotha Square in old Patan, within the Kathmandu Valley.

San Gimignano’s Rural Tales: Omelia Contadina

While in the grips of COVID-19, I was lucky enough to be invited to San Gimignano by Galleria Continua in September 2020, to encounter “Omelia Contadina,” a project that highlights the struggles of small farmers in Italy. Watching the project live was not just a visual spectacle but also a powerful social statement, intertwining rural life and art in a poignant narrative. Discover a selection of images from that project.

The Parisian Gaze: JR’s Iconic Eyes

Paris, JR’s canvas and playground, is home to some of his most iconic works. Leaving Paris by train offers the chance to capture the larger-than-life eyes that gaze at those passing through. These installations are more than art; they are windows into the soul of the city.

A Personal Milestone: Proposal at Clichy-Montfermeil Chronicles

Perhaps the most personal encounter with JR’s art was proposing over breakfast while arranging the 93 cards that came as part of a box set focusing on JR’s “Chroniques de Clichy-Montfermeil” installation. The story has a bit more background to it, but at a high level, we arranged the cards from the artwork, creating a unique setting for a question with lifelong consequences. This artwork, which depicts the life and resilience of the suburbs of Paris, became the backdrop of our own life-changing moment—and is now framed above my sofa.

I was lucky to catch the final day of ADD FUEL’s solo show, Chronos Redux at the Underdogs Gallery, when I visited Lisbon the other week.

Despite this being my first visit to the Portuguese capital, I’ve closely followed Underdogs for the last few years, getting to know some of the artists they represent and getting weighed down after buying the 608-page behemoth that is Vhils Pentimento.

Lisbon is like an open-air gallery, and Underdogs has a lot to thank for that as they aim to establish a close relationship between the artists they work with and the city of Lisbon. Through the Underdogs Art Programme and coinciding with the show’s launch, ADD FUEL had transformed a city wall with a giant mural in his signature style of familiar Portuguese tile design.

Add Fuel is Portuguese visual artist and illustrator Diogo Machado (1980). He interweaves the art of azulejo — painted ceramic tilework characteristics of Portuguese architecture — with visual references from pop culture, comics, animation, sci-fi, and graffiti. The attention to detail in the blending of traditional and contemporary elements is remarkable.

With it being the show’s final day, a little orange sticker accompanied almost all of the original pieces — a sign that the many art buyers agree with me about his work’s quality. Still, I was fortunate to acquire In Permanence, a steel-cut stencil on a marble base that the gallery held in stock. I would love to try and get some of his tile designs. They’re really quite remarkable.

The Ever Given is finally free after blocking the Suez Canal for the best part of a week, causing a traffic jam of up to $9 billion a day in global trade.

As I was drinking my coffee this morning and thinking about a situation where a ship capable of carrying up to 20,000 containers can bring the trade routes to its knees, I realised that one of my favourite JR pieces uses shipping containers as a canvas fit for a ballet dancer.

The ballerina jumping in containers was from a series of photographs JR shot with dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet at the Port of Le Havre in 2014. Once the Suez drama starts to fade away, I’ll be happy to be left with this beautiful artwork.

JR: Omelia Contadina, San Gimignano, Italy

In other JR news, I was lucky enough to catch him lead a performative event with Alice Rohrwacher in San Gimignano last year. Check out the images of Omélia Contadina here.

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The number Pi to three hundred and twenty nine digits, by Oliver Jeffers.

I have a few Oliver Jeffers artworks around the house, and each Pi Day, my focus turns to this one.

Happy Pi Day!