French street artist JR has transformed Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, with an inflatable cave-like installation that pays homage to the work of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Named La Caverne du Pont Neuf, the giant installation will officially open to the public on June 6th and be visible from many Paris viewpoints, including the Eiffel Tower. It was designed by JR as a paean to The Pont Neuf Wrapped – an iconic installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in which the same historic bridge was covered in sandstone colored fabric 41 years ago.
JR’s design is intended to emulate quarries in the Paris Basin, from which Paris stone was extracted to create the bridge and other buildings in the city.
“My vision for this project is rooted in both the past and present of this iconic bridge,” JR explains:
“I admire the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and I share their idea that the mission of art is to make us think, to question what is familiar to us. The debate that a public art project can provoke is of equal value to its realization,” he continued.
“Art is a transformation, and a way of renewing the way we look at the world around us. Through the dream of La Caverne du Pont Neuf, this is what I hope to make possible in Paris.”
While the exterior is now complete, the inner tunnel will now be fitted out to feel like “a step into the unknown”, JR said.As part of the interior installation, the artist has worked with musician Thomas Bangalter – one-half of the music duo Daft Punk – to create a soundtrack.
“It will be a symbolic crossing, a step into the unknown, a journey within oneself,” JR said. “I designed the crossing of La Caverne as an experience where fullness and emptiness exist in balance.”
From June 6 to 28, La Caverne du Pont Neuf will be open to the public free of charge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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