Art has always pushed the boundaries, opened our eyes to the world that’s possible and changed the status quo. A French street artist is doing this on a global scale, appropriating the built-up world with his enormous poster photographs of people in troubled areas, to elicit change.

Artist and photographer, JR has undertaken some audacious projects around the world including pasting photos of Palestinian and Israeli people side by side, face to face, in 8 cities on the Separation Border of Israel and Palestine. The urban activist uses rooftops, vertical buildings, housing estates, trains or anything he feels inspired by, as an outdoor gallery.

His enormous flyposts- photographs pasted on the sides of buildings – bring art to the streets of Brazil, to African villages, European cities, giving a voice to the people living in these places and the challenges of their lives.

JR, who started his artistic career as a teenage graffiti artist, won the Ted prize for 2011.JR uses his camera to show the world its true face and his projects show us what’s possible when you have the courage to bend the rules, push the limits of society’s entrenched beliefs, and follow your inspiration.

Enjoy this funny, moving talk about art and who we are.