French artist JR gathered 40 inmates from Tehachapi prison to create another of his signature epic photo collages in their prison yard, hoping to tell the stories lost behind bars, bring a unifying power to the inmates, and give them a small amount of grace.

JR (co-director of Faces Places with Agnès Varda) spent three years at the California Correctional Center, a supermax prison near Tehachapi in Northern California. He not only recruited the inmates as subjects of his art project but also as intimate collaborators. Working with director Tasha Van Zandt (After Antarctica), JR created one of the most moving exhibits–and documentaries–about prison life.

“[Sheds] valuable light on the individual stories behind the statistics.” –Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily