The French street artist known for pasting huge black-and-white photographic portraits on buildings is JR.
Born Jean-René in Paris in 1983, JR began by placing large photographic images in public spaces, turning walls, rooftops, trains, and other urban structures into temporary galleries. He calls himself a “photograffeur,” combining photography with graffiti, and has described the street as the world’s largest art gallery.
His projects often focus on identity, dignity, migration, and social participation. Works such as Women Are Heroes and Face 2 Face used monumental portraits to challenge stereotypes and bring attention to communities that mainstream media often overlooks. In 2011, he won the TED Prize and used it to launch the Inside Out Project, in which people worldwide create and display oversized portrait photographs.
JR is sometimes confused with Banksy because both work anonymously or pseudonymously in public spaces. Invader is another French street artist, but he is chiefly associated with pixel-like mosaic figures inspired by video-game characters. Blek le Rat is a major stencil pioneer, not the artist described here.