In order to gain more perspective on how spaces, emotions, and experiences work together and affect each other, I decide to go to a solo exhibition by French photographer JR “MOMENTUM LA MÉCANIQUE DE L’ÉPREUVE” in Maison Européenne de la Photographie. The whole show was an eclectic mix of his early works as well as his latest installations, but what unites all of them is his concern with social agendas and the way he uses spaces to raise awareness and provoke feelings and get a response from the audience. Due to his background in graffiti world, his view on utilizing that concept of space and place seems particularly interesting.
- Portrait of a Generation :
JR took an extreme approach in addressing the issue of violence. The death of two teenagers who hid in an electricity transformer running away from the police evoked a row of riots. Anger, that feeling of hopelessness, injustice are so effectively portrayed through his act of taking large-scale images of locals that were later printed and placed on the walls illegally.
It got me thinking about that approach of portraying the concept in such a way that is directly connected to its very core. It gave me an idea that changing the space is actually not just a necessity or technical adjustment but should correspond to the idea and make it complete. So I realized that hanging pieces of white wallpaper that resemble trees would not only make the space more effective for projections but add even more, magnifying the feeling of being in an alien jungle like space.
- Women are heroes:
Placement became crucial as gigantic pictures of eyes were put onto urban spaces, exemplifying how symbolic eyes are in terms of emotional portrayal, as in this exhibition females being first victims of any war was emphasised. It also proves how key eyes are in art and how powerful they are as a symbol that exists not just for one narrow audience but is almost global and more importantly natural.
- The Wrinkles of the City
Again I witnessed eyes being a tool, actually taking a role of storytellers, so potent that one glance is enough.
- Unframed
Raising social awareness about obstacles encountered by immigrants, by those who had to face the destruction of their home, those who reached that point of being alien and uncomfortable to a very extreme extent. And again it triggered that train of thought about the meaning behind a human eye.
If we can identify the owner of the eye, does it mean that we can relate to their story?
does it make their personal experoience more powerful for us?
does it decrease their strength because we feel sorry, instead of getting to the core of the meaning?
or does realisation of their identity make their stories more familiar less striking?
But since JR probably aimed at establishing the connection between viewers and his characters, then in order to create an alienation, a distance It makes sense to create eyes that are evidently not human, so that there is no understanding.
Another interesting aspect of that exhibition is the way movement was brought into space and how it worked with and complemented the elements/eyes, by adding that chaotic movement, uneasiness became even sharper, thus all the pain of his characters was communicated in a much more effectual way.
The impact various movement adds to our perception gave me an idea of making several versions of my ” spinning/turning around eye ” so that “eyes” make an environment more chaotic and disturbing, as the movement of the eyes is not synchronised.
"Untitled" 