Rikers Island Prison Gets the JR Art Treatment

24-hour surveillance.

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Complex Original

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JR has been busy lately with his "Inside Out" project. Somehow in-between taking over the advertising screens in Times Square, prepping for the premier of his Inside Out documentary on HBO, and readying his upcoming gallery show with José Parlá, JR made his way to upstate New York to plaster some art on a wall at Rikers Island Prison. 

Using a photo of the eye of an 18-year-old inmate in the familiar style that has become his signature throughout the project, JR put the picture high up on a wall looking left, explaining that it was per the subject's request: "life in jail is all about watching your back."

The artist also put photos inside the prison creating a sort of photographic panopticon, the feeling that someone is always watching even when they're not.

[via Hypebeast]

RELATED: JR Takes Over the Advertising Screens in Times Square With the "Inside Out" Project

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