In downtown Los Angeles, sometime between 2010 and 2011 — the wall's exact date is unresolved — Vhils and JR combined their languages on one surface, tied to JR's Eurotrash show at Lazarides (2010) and his LA 'Wrinkles of the City' campaign. JR's monumental wheat-pasted photograph and Vhils' subtractive carving share the wall, so the portrait reads at once as image and excavation; neither serves as backdrop for the other. Installed with the building owners' consent, the piece sets addition against removal, photography against sculpture — two opposed practices on one skin, each keeping its identity. It was an early sign of Scratching the Surface moving past the single carved wall.
Year2010PlaceLos Angeles, United StatesMediumWallsTechniqueCarved wall (Vhils) with wheatpaste photograph (JR)