In his new documentary ‘Tehachapi’, French street artist JR reveals the behind-the-scenes of a four-year-long project with inmates of an American prison.
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00:00I was never planning to stay and work for years in Tehachapi. I was just very surprised
00:20that they gave me that permit to go inside a prison. So I went after three days of getting
00:26the permit. I went in there thinking, let's do it very quick before they remove that
00:31permit. And then once that permit kept on going, I kept on coming back. And for the
00:36last three and a half years, we've been coming back and we're going to continue to go back.
00:48I think one of the most impactful moments for me was I was actually in a visit with
00:52my mother shortly after one of the projects. And one of the guards had come up to our table
00:58and he began speaking to my mom as if I wasn't even at the table. And he just was explaining
01:03that himself and many of the guards were very proud of what I was doing and the change that
01:08was developing. There was still violence like throughout the
01:17entire thing. Like I think we see that in the film even. But what it did do is it sowed
01:21seeds. And so I believe that the impact that it had on the participants of the initial
01:26project was observed by the entire population.
01:52The documentary is pretty crazy. Incredibly moving, full of good sense. It's really an
02:01incredible story. The art in the prison environment is absolutely effective.