Internationally acclaimed French artist JR is helping London kick off the UEFA Euro 2020 championships in impressive style.
Starting on 13 June, he’ll be transforming London’s streets with more than 3,000 black and white portrait photographs of the city’s community heroes in a huge outdoor gallery in celebration of football’s ability to bring people together.
The Inside Out Project will start on the road across Tower Bridge – in a display longer than two football pitches spanning the River Thames – before moving to locations in Lewisham, King’s Cross, Tottenham and the Royal Docks.
A number of schools, grassroots organisations, hospital staff and volunteers have already been photographed in preparation for the installation at Tower Bridge. Londoners working or living close to the locations will also be invited to book to have their photo taken as part of the project.
JR said: “The Inside Out Project will allow any person in London to express a visual statement with their portrait. It’s the first photobooth truck activation since a long time, at a beautiful moment of reopening – bringing people together again and building bridges through art.”
Over the past decade, more than 400,000 people across 138 countries have taken part in Inside Out, which has inspired collaborations and conversations about diversity, feminism, racism, climate change and art.
This latest display coincides with JR: Chronicles opening at Saatchi Gallery after lockdown delays. You can book tickets here until 3 October 2021.