He is known as the French Banksy, or simply JR. The street artist, popular in France for large-scale photographs and street art, is planning to transform Paris’ oldest bridge into an immersive public “cave” for a limited run this June, according to an Associated Press report.
JR told AP from his studio in eastern Paris that his Pont Neuf Cavern project would cover the stone arches with a rocky illusion and invite visitors to cross the Seine through a tunnel-like structure. He said the installation is designed to be accessible around the clock and to offer what he described as a “totally different approach” to Pont Neuf.
In June, JR plans to transform the 17th-century bridge with the temporary, monumental artwork, spanning about 120 meters in length and over 17 meters in height. He said the project would run June 6-28, and he described it as “We’re about to leave something pretty incredible in the middle of Paris,” in remarks to AP while wearing his trademark hat and shades.
The project also draws on art history in Paris. JR said his “homage” references the late artistic duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who wrapped Pont Neuf and its streetlamps in 1985, an effort that AP said took years of negotiations with authorities and helped define modern monumental public art. JR told AP that he met Christo over the years and that the two artists shared “big respect” for each other’s work.
JR said a visitor he encountered while walking with AP—an older woman who shared memories of the 1985 wrapping—expressed excitement about seeing the bridge transformed again. He acknowledged the difficulty of following in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s footsteps, telling AP: “It’s pretty hard to go after them, but I’m doing it in a very different style, in my own way.”
Inside the installation, JR said visitors will enter a space meant to create total immersion. He said the cave will allow no daylight, and that once inside, visitors would “lose track of time,” according to his remarks. He described two experiences for people approaching the bridge and then moving through it: from the outside, the installation would be visible hundreds of meters away, and from the inside visitors would pass through the tunnel-like structure.
The cave experience will also include sound and augmented reality. JR said a key collaborator on the project is Thomas Bangalter, a former member of the French rock band Daft Punk, creating sound meant to be heard from inside. JR also said Snap’s AR studio in Paris is developing the augmented reality technology, and that visitors would use their smartphones to “experience and see things that you can’t see with your eyes,” while he kept what that entails as a surprise until closer to the opening.
AP reported that JR’s team has conducted engineering studies, including tests in a hangar at Paris’ Orly airport, to understand how the structure would behave—especially in an emergency if electricity powering the cave’s air supply cuts off. JR said the tests showed the structure would stay the same. He also said security is a concern because the bridge is busy during early summer, and he said visitor numbers would be limited at any given time, with his team consulting with authorities. AP added that the installation will be continuously monitored during the three-week exhibition.
JR described the cave as both an artwork and a metaphor. He said his broader career is rooted in public-scale art and that the Pont Neuf installation will not feature his typical massive faces, but will still focus on themes of gathering and connection. He also linked the cave concept to Plato’s allegory of the cave, drawing a comparison to what he described as the “fake reality” created by the visual world of social media, saying: “What are our caves today is our phone,” and that “we … believe that … our algorithm on social media … is the reality.” During the installation, AP reported that the bridge will close to traffic, and that the project is scheduled to coincide with June’s Paris Fashion Week and World Music Day.