Inside Out, Giza

After the success of Greetings from Giza in 2021, JR has brought the Inside Out Project to Egypt as part of Forever Is Now II. Passersby are invited into a unique, pyramid-shaped photobooth where they can take a portrait and become part of a monumental JR installation.


Each portrait is transformed into a larger than life, black and white poster that is printed nearly five meters in the air. Participants watch as their portraits float down into an attendant’s awaiting arms. After collecting their poster, participants can paste their image on one of three billboards outside of the booth. With their portrait set against the backdrop of the ancient Pyramids, participants become co-creators, collaborators, and protagonists in the long artistic history of this site.


JR’s participatory art installation will be running from now until November 10th, from 9am to 4pm, and visible until November 30th.

JR has been creating installations at monumental cultural sites for years, and pyramids are his specialty. In 2016, he was asked to create a work at the Louvre in Paris. When he visited the museum to plan his project, he noticed that people travel across the world to see the Louvre, but, upon arriving, they quickly turn their back on it to take a selfie. Inspired by this irony, he created an anamorphosis that made the Louvre pyramid disappear.


JR’s installation at the Giza Pyramids approaches our society’s enthusiasm for selfies at touristic spots from a new angle. Rather than look away from the monument for a photo, participants make a statement in front of the 4,500-year-old site through their portraits and interact with the pyramids by pasting their poster. While the faces on the billboards are continuously pasted over with new portraits, the backdrop of the magnificent pyramids remains the same. Participants and passersby alike are invited to reflect on the ephemeral in a place where time takes on another meaning.