These photos show the latest installment of French artist JR’s 28 Millimeter: Women project.  This series was installed in February in Kibera, Kenya (one of the largest slums in Africa).

JR’s mission with this project is “to portray on a grand scale the unseen and unempowered women of the world.”  The other cool thing about this particular installation is that the huge photographs covering the rooftops are made from water-resistant material, so they help protect the houses during the rainy season.

With the help of enthusiastic residents, JR managed to cover 2,000 square meters of local rooftops with photos of the eyes and faces of the women of Kibera, giving them a monumental voice and presence in a city where their own existence is often marginalized….In order to further spread his message throughout the massive city, JR also encapsulated the local train that runs through the area twice daily with the eyes of local women alongside those of women photographed in Brazil, India, Cambodia, and other parts of Africa whose stories and images reveal a global solidarity of plight and purpose.  The pinnacle of the experience, however, comes when the eyes on the moving train align with the static bottom halves of the subject’s faces posted along the train’s embankment, completing the smiling portraits for a split second in rapid succession before moving on to the next village where the experience is repeated.

Neat, huh?  Go here to see more photos of the installation.