“Women are Heroes” exhibit by JR in Paris

Every once in awhile I feel like I’ve been slapped in the face — not too hard.

Yet, global guerrilla photographer JR’s “Women are Heroes” project, installed all over Paris, is not a tap on the shoulder.

OK, imagine that it was a wooden beam but one made of silly putty, not wood. And some beefy guy on JR’s tech team took it and swung it at your head. Being a nice guy, he told you that it was coming, so you could duck.  Still, it wouldn’t hurt you, if by chance the silly putty beam made contact.

Now at least you have some remote sense of the violent, lurking sensations that comprise the daily lives of the faces — mostly the eyes have it — in the “Women are Heroes” exhibit touring the world and presently in Paris. Because we’re only seeing the images as art, we’re spared the full force of the real-life blows.

“Women are Heroes” is the largest, most visible art project that Paris has seen in years.

“Eyes for me are the windows of the soul,” says the young artist (JR) whose work it is. “Through the eyes, you can read the person, sometimes read their story.”

“Women are Heroes in Paris” via HypebeastJR’s projects have taken him to Brazil, Kenya, Liberia, India and Cambodia, Palestine and the streets of Paris. I discovered the show with a Google “women + Brazil”, in an effort to give more coverage to South American and Mexican women in IWR.

“Women are Heroes”, which runs until 2 November, pays tribute to the courage and resilience of women in places where JR says “art does not exist”.

While men controlled the streets everywhere, in the background those trying to hold up or rebuild their communities were the women.

“The eyes are powerful because the women are powerful,” he says. “You can see the energy and strength in those eyes.”