Wind rips through la Caverne

By Louise Peloquin

     After an 8-day, record-breaking heatwave at the end of May stifled Paris, June 2nd brought torrential rain and, as the French say, un vent à décorner les boeufs – a wind to rip the horns off a bull.

As far as we know, the sudden meteorological shift left Parisian region bulls unscathed but not La Caverne du Pont Neuf. JR’s monumental sculpture was meant to be ephemeral but the weather wasn’t supposed to dictate its fleetingness.

After our coverage on La Caverne, here’s an update. (1)

     On the afternoon of June 2nd, violent wind ripped swaths of the 20,066.29 yards of painted fabric used to create La Caverne, baring the inflatable structure supporting it. Consequently, its planned grand opening to the public on June 6th has been indefinitely postponed.

JR’s press team released the following statement without specifying the extent of the damage: “the technical experts and engineers of this art project are actively working to determine the precise causes.”

They announced: “the decision was taken to postpone the opening of the sculpture to a later date to be defined in light of the conclusions on the state of the premises.” (2)

     JR has not abandoned his intention to freely offer the general public a 24-hour-a-day, immersive, visual and musical experience in his unique trompe-l’oeil rock formation – La Caverne du Pont Neuf.

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• https://richardhowe.com/2026/06/02/la-caverne-du-pont-neuf-by-jr-plato-and-daft-punk/
• Translation by Louise Peloquin.