JR photography

 Wrinkles of the City

JRs project Wrinkles of the city was a project he did in various cities around the world. He would collaborate with artists, and they would paint large murals of older people who were quite relevant in the cities history, over the cities walls. The people that were painted and photographed had a large impact and were symbols to the city. As time passed by in the city, so did age. Although time has gone by, these people were chosen to be painted to keep in memory.  These projects look at age and the aging process and how it affects the identity of both the people and the city. JR captures these murals around the world, and highlights how beautiful life and growing time can be. Appreciating the wrinkles of the city, and growing older. 

The Wrinkles of the City, La Habana, Alicia Adela Hernandez Fernández, Cuba, 2012

This portrait was captured in Cuba. JR worked with artist Jose Parla to capture photos of these murals of twenty five senior citizens that lived through the Cuban Revolution. This is only one of these murals, but they created many through the city, animating the walls. This photo is special because you can see it is capturing the attention of people who walk past it, making them think and appreciate. These murals tell a story. without having any written words. There is a historical past for both the cities, and the people that are painted throughout the cities. 

The Wrinkles of the city, Bernhard PUNT, Berlin 2013

In Berlin, there are portraits of older people who have lived through the changes of their city. Their individual life stories and what they have gone through show up in facial features just as Berlin’s history does on the buildings. JR’s photographs are always about more than the person who is on the wall. They symbolize the importance of each and every person. People who seem to have lost significance socially, the oldest generation, become visible once more and feel noticed and valued again. Each of JRs photos in this project focus on the older generation of people who were brought up in the city. It is full of emotions, and painted somewhere where many people will be able to see. These murals are highlighting what these people have gone through, and their emotions. Lining with the cities history, these people are apart of it, living in the moment, and being apart of the wrinkle in the city.