A cave in the heart of Paris… This is the ephemeral installation imagined by the French artist JR to transform the Pont-Neuf, the oldest stone bridge in the French capital. If the project will only be finalized and open to the public from June 6, the giant inflatable structure that looks like a mountain covered with snow, which completely covers the historic building, does not leave onlookers indifferent.
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On the sidewalk, at the exit of the Paris metro, it’s a traffic jam… We find there, as an exit from the ground, “an immense structure which makes up the entire Pont-Neuf. It really evokes a mountain, a cave, a grotto… It’s magnificent“, exclaims a passerby nearThey had Bernierfrom RFI’s France service.
Still being installed, the inflatable cave asks: “What is the goal? I find that it ruins the atmosphere a little with this heat.» « From a distance, it looks more like a mountain of ice.»
« It’s worth seeing »
The new work draws in trompe-l’Å“il the rocky appearance of a cave 120 m long, 20 m wide and with a height oscillating between 12 and 18 m. With this work, JR seeks rather to break the ice: to escape isolation in favor of social bonds. A successful bet for Lucien and his grandmother Nicole: “Young people don’t necessarily want to go to museums or anything else, there it’s accessible to everyone. It’s worth seeing.»
An intergenerational work, with a nod to Christo and Jeanne-Claudea couple of artists who had already wrapped the bridge in fabric in 1985: “It’s even more spectacular and astonishing ! »
The interior of the cavern will be accessible free of charge day and night, from June 6 to 28. An experience “immersive » whose sound universe was entrusted to the electro musician Thomas Bangalter, ex-member of the duo Daft Punk.
Also readDeath of Christo, the artist who packed the Pont-Neuf
/2026/06/16/6a30e890a0c81564235057.jpg "Environ \"120 millions de barils encore coincés\" dans le détroit d'Ormuz, selon un expert")
