JR Artist – Signed Photo – Women Are Heroes, Kenya (2009)

JR (born 22 February 1983) is the pseudonym of a French photographer and street artist. JR stands for the initials of JR’s first name, which is Jean-René. Describing himself as a photograffeur (a portmanteau of “photographer” and “graffeur”—French for “graffiti artist”), he flyposts large black-and-white photographic images in public locations. He states that the street is “the largest art gallery in the world.” He started out on the streets of Paris. JR’s work “often challenges widely held preconceptions and the reductive images propagated by advertising and the media.” JR’s work combines art and action, and deals with commitment, freedom, identity and limits. He has been introduced by Fabrice Bousteau as: “the one we already call the Cartier-Bresson of the 21st century”. On 20 October 2010, JR won the TED Prize for 2011. He used the $100,000 award money to start the Inside Out Project. JR was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018.