Monaco-based Chef Yannick Alléno and French artist JR have teamed up for a powerful and poignant project: a large-scale photo collage featuring nearly 3,000 portraits of families who have lost loved ones to dangerous and reckless driving incidents. The goal of Inside Out is to raise awareness and offer a visual tribute to those grieving tragic losses.

In May 2022, Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alléno’s son, Antoine, was tragically killed by an unlicensed driver under the influence of alcohol in a stolen vehicle. This devastating event led the Pavyllon chef to found a charity in his son’s honour, the Association Antoine Alléno, which offers support to the loved ones of young victims.

See more: Monaco rallies behind Alléno after son’s death

The association is now expanding its reach through a partnership with French “urban artivist” JR, joining his Inside Out project.

JR’s Inside Out is a global platform that empowers communities to stand up for their beliefs and spark change from a grassroots level. The initiative typically involves large-scale collections of portraits from community members, which are displayed in public spaces.

Read more: Yannick Alléno to help other victims following son’s death

In support of this project, on 13th September, people who have lost a loved one in circumstances similar to the Allénos are invited to the Hôtel de Ville in Nice between 10am and 5pm to be photographed. A similar photocall will take place in Lyon two days earlier.

A display on the Pont d’Alma

Alléno and JR aim to collect nearly 3,000 photos in total, which will eventually be assembled into a massive collage to be displayed on the Pont d’Alma in Paris. The bridge, famously associated with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in August 1997, is chosen for its symbolic location, though the organisers say this is coincidental.

Through Inside Out, the relatives and friends of road victims who are “trying to rebuild themselves and relearn how to breathe” are given the opportunity to be seen by a wider audience and pay tribute to their lost loved ones.

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Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer