The artist JR arrives with his photo booth truck at La Baleine in Nice, this Friday, June 6, for the Ocean Summit

JR's photographic portraits will find prime exposure on... the Baleine, that is, on the walls of the Nice Exhibition Center, transformed for the Ocean Summit into a vast space dedicated to the public. The link with the artist JR? Exactly: he arrives on Friday, June 6, 2025, with his Inside Out project, in which he largely involves local residents, wherever he goes.

Concretely? The photobooth—a device that allows you to take photos in real time in a booth like a Polaroid, a photo booth truck, in short—will be positioned in front of the Whale. On Friday, June 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., you can take a look around and perhaps even consider posing. Then, it's time for the exhibition.

Raising awareness

JR's website explains: "Hundreds of portraits of ocean defenders—fishermen, scientists, artists, youth, indigenous leaders, and supporters like you—will fill the facade of the Exhibition Center from June 6 to 13 to celebrate the Third United Nations Ocean Conference. The installation will welcome delegates on Ocean Day (June 8), so the world can take notice."

Because the artist uses art as a means, if not to raise awareness, then at least to provoke thought and discussion. He launched his participatory art project in 2011 and has since toured the world. "As of September 2023, a total of more than 500,000 people from 152 countries have participated in the project by creating their own actions or by coming to have their photo taken in one of the Inside Out photo booths," we can still read on his website.