JR’s global project Inside Out
French artist JR’s global participatory art project comes to Ukraine with a monumental Photobooth Action at PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv from June 30, 2023 to January 7, 2024.
In March 2022, less than one month into the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, JR travelled to Lviv in search of ways to help and engage with Ukrainians. His trip resulted in the work Valeriia (2022), an image of a 5-year-old Ukrainian girl from Kryvyi Rih seeking refuge in Poland. The image transformed into an action, performed on the main square of Lviv, that became the cover of the March-April issue of Time Magazine. Not only did this work help bring attention to the lives at risk in Ukraine, but also, through the sale of two NFTs of Valeriia, it also raised funds to support Ukrainians.
Today, we are proud to announce that PinchukArtCentre is hosting a collection of JR’s artwork and bringing his global participatory art project Inside Out to Kyiv. We present a series of lithographs, giving an enticing view into his work and global artistic practice. The selection focuses on his engagement with vulnerable groups and his large-scale monumental projects. We are also excited to announce the latest Inside Out Photobooth: Inside Out Kyiv: We Are Here!
At a time of hardship and systematic threat to life, we invite all Ukrainians to join in a moment of joy, positivity and togetherness by participating in an Inside Out Action. Our Photobooth Action shares the message, We are here.
A specially designed Photobooth will be present in the PinchukArtCentre where everyone is invited to take their portrait and later paste it onto the walls of the ArtCentre. Beyond that, we invite communities or just groups of friends from all over Ukraine to join this call to action. All are welcome to come to take their portraits and create their own Inside Out installations by pasting the portraits in public spaces to amplify the message We Are Here!
Alongside taking their portraits, we also invite visitors to share their stories and experiences in a recording booth to create an audio portrait of Ukrainians in Ukraine for the world to discover. Those recorded testimonies will eventually be available online alongside the portraits and images from We Are Here! on the Inside Out website.
This project will be a statement of strength where all Ukrainians take a stand, making clear: Ukraine and Ukraine's future is theirs.
The exhibition is curated by Björn Geldhof, Artistic Director of the PinchukArtCentre.