The opening of French artist JR's large-scale installation on Paris' historic Pont Neuf bridge has been postponed after the artwork was damaged days before it was due to open to the public.
JR's team said technical experts were investigating the cause of the damage to "La Caverne du Pont Neuf", a walk-through inflatable cave structure that had been scheduled to open on June 6. A new opening date has not yet been announced.
The installation, measuring 120 metres long, 20 metres wide and up to 18 metres high, consists of an inflatable fabric landscape designed to transform the appearance of the city's oldest bridge.
The project pays tribute to artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose 1985 wrapping of the Pont Neuf became one of their best-known works. The pair later gained worldwide attention with projects including the wrapping of Berlin's Reichstag building in 1995.
Like Christo's works, JR's installation aims to alter the public's perception of familiar urban spaces rather than focus solely on the object itself.
"La Caverne du Pont Neuf" is the largest project of JR's career to date. The French artist is known for large-format photographic installations in public spaces.
