The temporary installation did not withstand Tuesday afternoon’s high winds and heavy downpours and will no longer be able to open to the public on 6 June as planned.
While the aptly named Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, has stood firm on its piers for more than four centuries, the large-scale installation it was meant to host has proved far more fragile.
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Four days before the inauguration of "The Cave" by artist JR, the project partners announced on Tuesday that the event was being postponed after the artwork was damaged by bad weather.
Photos and videos posted on social media show a torn canvas revealing its inflatable structure. The full extent of the damage has yet to be established.
"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 assessment", read a joint statement from Atelier JR, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation and the Amicale des Ponts de Paris. The signatories added that a technical inspection is currently under way.
"Sensory experience"
As a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who wrapped the Pont Neuf in fabric in 1985, JR's work, which has loomed over the Seine for several days, was to be accessible free of charge, 24 hours a day, until 28 June.
Like the wrapped Pont Neuf, "The Cave" is funded entirely through private sponsorship, as JR's team is keen to stress.
This imposing rocky trompe-l'œil, which has provoked mixed reactions, promises to "engage all the senses", with a soundscape created by Thomas Bangalter, formerly of Daft Punk, and an olfactory experience devised by the perfume house Odore Scola in order "to infuse an essential component of this installation: the air, with narrative and emotional weight".
A press conference is scheduled for Thursday morning to set out the next steps for the project.
