Forty years ago, artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude, renowned for their monumental ephemeral works, wrapped Paris’s Pont Neuf in more than 40,000 m² of fabric, secured with ropes and steel chains.
To pay tribute to them, artist JR conceived a giant inflatable sculpture transformed into an immersive cave, complete with a soundtrack by Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk), the scent of damp earth and Snapchat augmented-reality experiences. It offered Parisians and visitors from around the world a unique opportunity to experience an ephemeral reinterpretation of the French capital’s oldest bridge.
The project was striking in its monumental scale, with 120 metres of bridge supporting an inflatable structure evoking a cave both outside and in. Visitors could walk through a cavernous corridor and interact with the installation at three Snapchat experience points. Visitors entered from Quai de l’Horloge on the Île de la Cité and exited on Quai du Louvre. The installation was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from 6 to 28 June 2026.
Lighting and power distribution were handled by CANAL LED, supported by a team of technicians from technical service provider Magnum. Fabrice “Tom” Azoulay was the lighting designer, Antoine Planchais and Basile Leclerc the programmers, and Olivier Zaffran and Romain Louvier the lighting assistants.
A team of technicians from Dushow installed the fixtures. Focusing and programming took place over six days and two nights. Everyone battled the elements to deliver outstanding work, and the project proved a success despite weather conditions that forced the teams to dismantle and reinstall the equipment so the fabric, which had been torn by the wind, could be replaced. The lighting then had to be refocused in record time so that the artwork could open to the public as planned.
SLU : Was the installation well received by Parisians, who can sometimes be a little grumpy?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : Compared with other projects, I think it went pretty well.
A double layer of fabric forms the cave
Unlike the shell, the inner tunnel consists of fabric operating under negative pressure: air is extracted rather than blown in. This creates a vacuum effect that smooths and tensions the fabric, giving it rounded shapes. Sandbags placed on the ground act as ballast, anchoring the fabric and accentuating its contours. When entering the intermediate galleries that provide backstage access, you have to move quickly, because opening the doors allows air in and causes the fabric to lose tension. The design was created by Air Toile Concept, a French company based in Brittany specialising in inflatable structures.
For the lighting, the manufacturer worked closely with CANAL LED. Tom explains: “The artist wanted highly contrasted looks. Some of the rooms dedicated to Snapchat required a high level of light intensity so that the effects would be sufficiently visible through the augmented-reality glasses, and the same applied to smartphone applications. We therefore asked for the backstage-facing side of the fabric to be white so that it would reflect the light more effectively.”
SLU : What was the main difficulty with this installation?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : Our focusing was designed for the installation with the fabric under tension. We had to make sure it remained under constant negative pressure so that it wouldn’t move closer to the fixtures and create hot spots. That meant ensuring that the doors leading to the adjoining galleries remained closed.
Air Toiles Concept (ATC) is a Brittany-based company specialising in the manufacture of custom inflatable and textile structures and scenic elements for events and marketing, with a strong commitment to “Made in France” production. Based in Plougoumelen, Morbihan, near Vannes, the company has been operating for thirty years and supports sporting, cultural and festive events by combining creativity and technical expertise, with a commitment to sustainable materials and environmentally friendly inks. ATC has built a strong international reputation working with major brands, from initial design through to technical production.
Interior lighting design
The Cave offered two distinct experiences: an augmented-reality experience that transported visitors into the project’s digital, ghostly and slightly techno universe, and an extraordinary printed-fabric sculpture, massive on the outside yet contrasting with the labyrinthine environment within. When I visited, ambient temperatures were already extremely high during the heatwave, and without LED-source fixtures the project would almost certainly never have been feasible.
SLU : How did you prepare for this sculpture?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : We carried out full-scale tests in one of the hangars at Orly Airport (ADP). These buildings provide enormous volumes because they were originally designed to house aircraft. Together with JR and his artistic director Camille Pajot, we selected a lighting design that guides visitors towards specific areas known as “Snapchat zones”.
These focal points are more brightly lit than the rest, and visitors can put on augmented-reality glasses or use their phones to view themed animations, including a dancer, bats flying towards them and a visual effect that broke down the movements of the people around them.
SLU : Who developed these animations?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : They were created by three different teams based in Paris, Los Angeles and London. They allow visitors to interact with the cave.
SLU : What did the Snapchat team require in terms of lighting for these dedicated areas?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : They asked me to provide a minimum of 50 lux in these areas, but we found that the contrast with the rest of the artwork was too strong. The glasses also stopped working because the corridors in the background were too dark. To achieve the right balance and create contrast, intensity and depth within the overall lighting environment, I also lit the fabric from above using backlighting. This more intense overhead light falls onto the hand so that the effects remain sufficiently visible.
SLU : How did you approach the lighting, and which fixtures did you use?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : We used touches of light to highlight specific areas of the fabric, making the stalactites and stalagmites stand out or deepening the crevices painted onto the fabric. It required a high degree of precision, and I’m pleased with the result because you can’t see any of the fixtures or even their beams, thanks to the backlighting work we carried out. For this, I used Elation Chorus Line LED bars (RGBW, 4°–40° zoom, motorised tilt), Rayzor 760 washes (seven RGBW sources, 5°–77° zoom, continuous pan and tilt) and Elation Picasso profiles.
They were available in sufficient quantities from Dushow, and Elation is also a brand that CANAL LED has distributed itself for several years. We also installed 137 Apoled units – LED service-lighting panels positioned throughout the tunnel – at the request of the safety commission, to provide sufficient illumination in the event of an evacuation.
SLU : Was it easy to draw up your lighting plan for an architecture that was so empirical and ultimately difficult to predict?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : I selected the fixtures and their positions following our tests at Orly, while remaining flexible during installation whenever other options proved more effective. We also had to keep one of the two galleries completely clear of obstacles. On average, we had only one metre – and sometimes as little as 50 cm – of throw distance for our floor-mounted fixtures.
SLU : I can see that nothing is flown
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : There are anti-collapse arches made from metal structures to ensure safe evacuation should the outer fabric collapse. But the organisations we were dealing with – the safety commissions, Paris City Hall and the authorities responsible for the riverbanks – did not allow us to rig anything from them.
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Exterior lighting design
SLU : Which software did you use for your predictions?
Antoine Planchais : We carried out 3D modelling in Depence to check the exterior lighting, using a scan of the bridge and the structure’s 3D files. This allowed us to obtain the correct photometric data from the prototype’s texture and check whether the angles and tower positions were right. Unfortunately, the towers were 150 metres away, which is a considerable distance and resulted in some loss of intensity, particularly when using the prism.
SLU : How did you light the bridge?
Fabrice ‘Tom’ Azoulay : We only highlighted selected areas because we couldn’t reach the ends, as the beams were blocked by the trees. In some areas I used the prism, but overall we were careful not to project above the treetops or onto navigation signs. We used the framing system to avoid light pollution in this densely populated environment, with residential buildings nearby and heavy river traffic on the Seine.
Control, power and infrastructure
SLU : The show is controlled using grandMA3 software 3. What do you think of the system?
Antoine Planchais : We’re running software version 2.3. The latest update arrived late, but we had enough time to get to grips with the console’s advanced features, which allow us to work simultaneously on the same cues without interfering with each other.
SLU : What did you think of it?
Antoine Planchais : It’s a collaborative workflow, and MA Lighting is the only system that allows us to work this way. If one console disconnects from the network, the other has already stored the current show in the shared backup because the two are constantly communicating with each other. It allows programmers to work independently or isolate a group of fixtures without getting in each other’s way. Another advantage is that everyone can use their own control interface – in other words, their own user profile with the setup they’re accustomed to. It was genuinely very enjoyable to work with.
CANAL LED also handled the installation’s power distribution: electrical cabinets in each of the bridge’s alcoves, distributed across five main low-voltage switchboards, connections with Enedis, and technical liaison with the City of Paris concerning electricity and the required power capacity, through service provider Magnum. In addition to the lighting installation, the electrical supply powered the blowers positioned along the entire structure to inflate the shell, as well as the sound system, alarms, smoke extraction system in the event of a fire, visitor entry/exit counters and security gates.
Fabrice explique : “We managed to secure the necessary power with the help of Patrick Cécile, who had already dealt with bringing electricity onto the Pont Neuf for the Olympic Games.”
For the 40th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Pont Neuf Wrapped”, JR, together with Camille Pajot, created an installation worthy of the scale of the original artwork: a 120-metre inflatable cave designed by Brittany-based Air Toiles Concept, combining textile engineering with technological immersion without sacrificing the handcrafted fragility sought by the artist. For the lighting, Fabrice “Tom” Azoulay of CANAL LED, assisted by Olivier Zaffran and Romain Louvier, had to contend with a flexible and unpredictable architecture, the requirements of the Snapchat experiences and the safety constraints imposed by the city.
Inside, Elation Chorus Line, Rayzor 760 and Picasso fixtures were used for backlighting, while Proteus Maximus fixtures mounted on towers illuminated the exterior at night. The equipment was deployed through a technical operation orchestrated by Dushow. The lighting sculpted the fabric seamlessly, with Antoine Planchais and Basile Leclerc programming the installation on grandMA3 software 3. A cave in the heart of Paris: an inspired artistic concept that made the French capital shine for three extraordinary weeks.
