At the Vatican Apostolic Library, JR has unveiled DILUVIUM, a monumental installation spanning the building’s historic facade. Measuring around 70 metres, the black-and-white work depicts a giant wave inspired by Gustave Doré’s 1866 illustrations of the biblical Flood.

Presented as part of AQVA, the first exhibition in the Library’s five-year Catastrophe and Wonder programme, the work explores water as both a source of life and a force of destruction. Installed on a building that safeguards centuries of books and manuscripts, JR’s image introduces a powerful reflection on the fragility of cultural memory and the preservation of knowledge.

JR works at the intersection of photography, public art, filmmaking and social engagement. Over the last two decades, he has created monumental public projects and site-specific interventions in cities all over the world. Whether it be pasting on homes in a Brazilian favela (2008-9), hosting a picnic across the US-Mexico border fence (2017), working alongside 400 volunteers to create a trompe-l’oeil at the Louvre in Paris (2019), or organising a procession around the enormous banner of a refugee child in the Sahara Desert (2022), JR seeks to involve everyone in the act of artistic creation, hoping to create conversations and drive social change.

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Images: (c) AP