17 stupendous works of art by mysterious French artist JR

French artist JR works anonymously, but the giant images he pastes on buildings, streets, and bridges around the world are meant to put faces on often-ignored slices of society, from victims of crime to the elderly.

The "photograffeur" - that's a combination of photographer and graffiti artist - prints humongous versions of the portraits he takes, often in black and white, and "flyposts" them where he chooses. The exhibits span whole cities and continents.

JR, who has received a TED Prize for his work, sees the streets as his stage and says he "owns the biggest art gallery in the world."

Keep scrolling to see some of the artist's most visually arresting works.