GIANTS, High jump in Rio

A miniature giant by legendary photographer, JR.

In his ongoing Giants series, JR takes over buildings and monuments worldwide with enormous black and white portraits. The project began in Rio de Jane...

A miniature giant by legendary photographer, JR.

In his ongoing Giants series, JR takes over buildings and monuments worldwide with enormous black and white portraits. The project began in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics – championing determined world class athletes who didn’t quite make the cut. Mohamed, a Sudanese high-jumper, took his place on the roof of a foreclosed apartment building overlooking the ocean.

A first-of-its-kind sculpture archives the moment at a domestic scale. The figure, printed on acrylic, can be affixed to a scaffold made from welded steel rods and displayed in isolation, or placed on top of a bespoke plinth which doubles up as an edition box.

“All my works are ephemeral. If you go back to Rio it’s not there, but it’s there in people’s minds. For the people who haven’t seen it, here is the proof that it at some point existed.”

Watch the accompanying film to hear JR’s reflections on scale, scaffolding and the importance of protecting his naivety.

  
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Edition details
Dimensions

Sculpture without box · 49cm x 38.2cm* x 12.4cm
Sculpture on box · 55.1cm** x 98.6cm x 20.2cm
*Figure extends 6.8cm below the metal base
**Box width includes metal fittings (+2.8cm)

Medium
Two-layer UV flatbed print on laser cut, hand-sanded 5mm frosted acrylic; welded steel rods on a laser cut steel base with a transparent powder coating; UV flatbed printed MDF box with metal hardware.
Finishing
Artist signature and edition number engraved on underside of steel base.
Release date
September 21, 2023

From the artist

Behind the scenes