JR is a French photographer who chooses to
be undisclosed. In 2007 he set up a Face 2 Face project along with Marco. They
traveled through the Israeli and Palestinian cities and met and spoke with
local people. Common people on both sides that practiced same professions like doctors,
hairdressers and teachers. Using a 28 millimeter lens they took photographs in
huge format of people who consented to be a part of this peace project. They realized
that these people, who spoke almost the same language, looked the same were
just simple people on two sides of a war zone. The
Face 2 Face project consisted of taking portraits of Palestinians and Israelis
doing the same job and posting them face to face, in huge formats. These were
put up in places where they would be seen by everyone on both Israeli and
Palestinian sides. The objective was to laugh and to think by seeing the
portrait oneself and that of the other. On 20 October 2010, JR won the TED Prize for
2011. Distance truly is not a measurable parameter. It’s a variable that can be
bridged by sensitivity. On their blog they say, “In a very sensitive context,
we have to be clear. We are in favor of a solution in which two countries,
Israel and Palestine would live peacefully within safe and internationally
recognized borders. All the bilateral peace projects (Clinton/Taba, Ayalon/Nusseibeh,
and Geneva Agreements) are converging into the same direction. We can be
optimistic.
credits:
Nice thought..Distance created by artificial boundaries
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