8 color lithograph printed on Marinoni machine
White paper BFK Rives 70 grams
Numbered /180 on the left side corner
Signed by JR on the right side corner (stamp and lead)
88 x 72 cm / 34,6 x 28,3 in. approx
In April 2015, the New York Times Magazine reached out to JR to think about a project together. JR had been working on immigration, and he told them he would love to continue what he had started on Ellis Island in the city.
So, they looked for people who arrived in New York City less than a year ago. They chose 15 immigrants coming from all over the world. JR photographed them walking in the city, all of them completely unknown and living in the shadows.
In a few hours during the night, JR and his team pasted Elmar, 20 years old who came from Azerbaijan, on the floor of Flat Iron Plaza in New York City. The image was 150 feet high. People walked on him all day, but no one really noticed him.
On April 23rd 2015, Elmar was on the cover of the New York Times magazine while everyone else was in the shadows.