JR takes on another city in his renowned global project: The Wrinkles of the City. This time, the French photographer has chosen to focus on the citizens of Shanghai and how they have grown as their city has changed around them.

In Wrinkles of the City: Shanghai, the elderly share their story of how they have watched their city suffer and become scarred through cultural, political and economic change. Now the withered faces of his subjects scar the walls of the city as JR stunningly fuses portraiture with public art. These people represent the memory of their city and act as the missing link between older and newer generations. One such citizen, Li Lei, writes a message to JR at the start of the book, “JR, When you paste monumental photographs in the streets, you paste in a community, and the meaning of these images is not your personal thing, because their significance goes beyond what meets the eye. The observer meets reality and is forced to reflect.”

The book features an extensive collection of some of the artist’s most famous works including his 17-painting installation at the Colette Gallery in Paris, the iconic decorations of building facades in downtown Manhattan and Project Brave, a moving 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Centre.  Complete with an in-depth introduction and biography with contributions from several contemporaries, the book presents a fascinating journey into the world of WK.

“WK is one of the true original artists to push the urban art form and inspire a generation to take it to the next level.” – Patrick McNeil