French artist JR has unveiled a new solo exhibition that sheds light on the refugee crisis around the world. Housed at Perrotin‘s 130 Orchard Street location in New York, Les Enfants d’Ouranos (The Children of Ouranos) refers to the primordial Greek god of the sky who fathered the Titans.
The latest work builds on JR’s recent Déplacé-e-s series, which showcased aerial photographs of 120-foot-long banners of children playing. The massive art was purposefully unfurled by groups of people around refugee camps — giving sight to the often unheard and invisible. Similarly, the latest work was created by transferring the negatives of children playing on reclaimed wood and reinforced with black ink for contrast. The resulting depictions obscure the original context, while imbuing a holy aura to the brightened silhouette of the kids.
“Les Enfants d’Ouranos finds our humanity’s origins in our own children— particularly those who are displaced and need to start over,” wrote Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, director of The Parrish Art Museum in a statement. “It is in these divine children that JR sees and captures the moment where all possibilities lie, where the world is yet to be elucidated, where hierarchies can be inverted, where the status quo and preconceived notions can be challenged and new, more benign, social constructs can be envisioned. It is in this new field where everything is possible.”
Complementing the exhibition and The Parrish Art Museum‘s 125th anniversary, there is a site-specific version of Les Enfants d’Ouranos that will display across the museum’s façade from May to September, 2023. Catch the Perrotin exhibition in New York until April 15.
In case you missed it, we spoke with Donna Huanca for the latest Hypeart Visits.
Perrotin
130 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
