The opening of a public artwork by French artist JR inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 1985 intervention The Pont Neuf Wrapped has reportedly been delayed after a storm damaged the installation overtop the River Seine in Paris.
As reported by Euronews, the opening planned for this weekend has been postponed to an unspecified date after severe winds mangled part of the artwork on the oldest bridge in the French capital. A statement from Atelier JR, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, and the Amicale des Ponts de Paris said, “The decision has been taken to postpone the opening of the work to a date after 6 June, which will be set in light of the findings of the condition report.” A full assessment of the damage is currently underway and a new opening date will follow.
JR’s tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, titled La Caverne du Pont Neuf, is a trompe l’oeil wrapping of the 419-year-old Parisian bridge made to look like a rocky outcropping of the quarries from which the stones to build the bridge were extracted. “The artwork will ultimately juxtapose the raw and wild with the refined elegance of the City of Light, creating a dialogue between the past and the present,” according to a press release issued by JR.
The inflatable work includes a sound element created by Thomas Bangalter, one of the two masterminds of the French electronic-music duo Daft Punk, and had been scheduled to be on view from June 6 through June 28. How those dates will be affected by the postponement remains unknown until the damage is assessed.
But once the work is unveiled, according to JR’s release, “It will also be possible to view it from a multitude of viewpoints, whether walking or cycling, from the banks of the Seine, the high quays and a series of nearby bridges, as well as from the water thanks to riverboat services, river shuttles and cruises on the Seine.”
