The Wrinkles of the City: Havana Cuba

The Wrinkles of the City project first started when JR visited the city of Cartagena, Spain. JR photographed its oldest inhabitants, who are seen as the memory incarnate of the city, marked by the scars of its history, economic expansion, and socio-cultural mutations.

While meeting and photographing the elderly, JR imagined their wrinkles as the marks of time, the traces of their lives that are intertwined with the history of the city. Wrinkles of the City takes on a new addition in Havana, Cuba, as JR invites José Parlá to collaborate by photographing and documenting the elderly of Havana. Together, they create murals in a mix of collage.

JR is the name of a French photographer and artist whose identity remains unconfirmed. He has been introduced by the journalist Fabrice Bousteau as "the one we already call the Cartier-Bresson of the 21st century".

On 20 October 2010, JR won the TED Prize for 2011. The TED Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, more importantly, 'One Wish to Change the World'. He exhibits freely in the streets globally, capturing the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors.