JR Transforms Pont-Neuf Bridge in Paris with an Inflatable “Cave”

On Thursday morning, the acclaimed artist JR and his team installed the monumental La Caverne du Pont-Neuf on the oldest bridge in Paris. The inflatable “cave,” designed so visitors can wander through the immersive structure, will close the bridge to traffic and is intended to bring attention to the “mineral and nature” roots of the city. It’s also a nod to the Christo and Jeanne-Claude installation on the same bridge 40 years ago.

While the fabric of the cave, which is meant to evoke walking through a dark tunnel, was hand-stitched by artisans in Brittany, the installation’s main component is air. JR, widely known for his monumental street art and photography, led vigorous testing of the structure and the pressurized air inside an airplane hangar earlier this year.

The project also includes Echoes, an AR component sponsored by Snap that will allow visitors to see beyond what’s visible within the cave. Elsewhere in Paris, the installation expands to Galerie Perrotin, where “Les esquisses de la Caverne” will be on view June 5 through July 25. There, JR will present new plastic works developed during his creative process with the cave.

“The Pont-Neuf project really emerged from the sketches and drawings I made, which allowed this cave and these rocks to appear in the middle of Paris,” JR said. “What I’m presenting in the exhibition is exactly that: the origin of the project, all the original drawings. In fact, just like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who showed the preparatory drawings for all their projects.”

When the three-week installation ends, only the drawings will remain.  “In the end, the only traces of the project are these sketches, these studies, these drawings,” he said. “That’s very important to me because they also represent the very beginning of the project.”

JR’s La Caverne du Pont Neuf will be on view and accessible to the public from June 6—25