Elation Lights Help LD Tom Azoulay Solve Challenges of Pont Neuf Art Installation

	The inflatable cave was continually subject to movement and changes in shape, while the available space between the tunnel and the outer structure left the lighting designer with extremely short distances for fixture placement.

When French artist JR transformed Paris's Pont Neuf into a monumental inflatable cave this summer, lighting designer Fabrice "Tom" Azoulay faced a challenge as unusual as the artwork itself: make a constantly changing inflatable architecture read as a cave, illuminate a 394' structure while working with extremely short throw distances and environmental constraints, create distinct focal points for AR interaction, and do it all without revealing the technical infrastructure behind the experience.

Created by JR with Camille Pajot to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Wrapped Pont Neuf, the installation transformed the bridge into an immersive environment open to the public from June 6-28. Visitors entered a cave-like passage beneath a giant inflatable mountain, encountering sounds, scents, and augmented-reality experiences, and interacting with the installation via three Snapchat activation points.

The lighting and electrical distribution were handled by CANAL LED with support from a team of technicians. For Azoulay, director of CANAL LED and the project's lighting designer, the challenge was to give the cavernous interior depth and definition while creating carefully controlled areas for the installation's digital experiences. Working with lighting programmers Antoine Planchais and Basile Leclerc, lighting assistants Olivier Zaffran and Romain Louvier, and technicians from Dushow, Azoulay built the lighting system around a range of Elation LED fixtures.

The unusual structure meant that conventional lighting approaches were not an option. The inflatable cave, designed by Air Toiles Concept, was continually subject to movement and changes in shape, while the available space between the tunnel and the outer structure left the lighting designer with extremely short distances for fixture placement.

Full-scale lighting tests were carried out in a hangar at Orly Airport before installation on the bridge. Those tests helped determine fixture selection (Chorus Line 16, Proteus Rayzor 760, Proteus Maximus, Artiste Picasso) and positioning while allowing Azoulay to explore how reflected light could reveal the contours of the fabric.

"I chose these fixtures and their positions following our tests in Orly, while remaining flexible during installation when certain options proved more interesting," he says. "On average, we had only 1n, or even 50cm, of throw distance for our floor-mounted equipment."

Inside the cave, Elation Chorus Line 16 pixel bar wash units were positioned in the technical gap running between the cave fabric and the mountain structure. Their motorized four to-40-degree zoom and 220-degree tilt range gave Azoulay the flexibility to cover the extensive surface, while working within the limited space. The fixtures were used both for general illumination of the cave and for backlighting the inflatable mountain canvas.

Elation Proteus Rayzor 760 wash fixtures added another layer, while Elation Artiste Picasso LED profile fixtures provided the concentrated intensity required at the installation's three Snapchat zones.

Azoulay used light to shape the cave visually. Carefully positioned beams picked out sections of the fabric, emphasizing stalactites and stalagmites and adding depth to painted crevices. Maintaining constant tension on the fabric was essential to keep it from getting too close to the fixtures and creating hot spots.

A key part of the approach was indirect illumination. By striking the white rear surface of the fabric and allowing the light to reflect into the cave, the designer could create intensity and contrast without exposing the fixtures or producing visible beams.

The lighting design guided visitors toward Snapchat zones, areas that presented an additional lighting challenge. At each zone, a small rock marked the interaction point, where visitors could scan a QR code to access digital animations including a dancer, approaching bats, and visualizations that respond to the movements of people around them.

For these areas, Azoulay opted for overhead lighting, using a combination of Chorus Line 16, Rayzor 760, and Artiste Picasso fixtures to build these focal points. The Picasso profiles supplied the higher intensity needed for the AR experience, while the Chorus Line and Rayzor fixtures contributed reflected and surrounding light to maintain continuity with the rest of the cave.

The deliberate use of a white surface on the rear of the structure helped maximize reflected light, allowing the designer to create bright areas without resorting to excessive direct illumination. As for the color of the projection, Azoulay describes it as a white-plus-RGB mix with a subtle emphasis toward red.

The interior lighting also benefited from the low heat output of LED technology. With temperatures soaring during an exceptionally hot Paris summer, minimizing the heat generated inside the enclosed inflatable structure was an important consideration.

After dark, the exterior of the mountain-like structure took on a different presence. Two 33' towers positioned on platforms near the Seine each carried eight Elation Proteus Maximus LED profile fixtures, illuminating the artwork across its large exterior surfaces.

Azoulay also made extensive use of the fixtures' integrated prism effects, adding another dimension to the nighttime presentation. Additional Rayzor 760 fixtures positioned in the bridge's recessed alcoves provided exterior reinforcement.

Trees blocked access to the ends of the structure, requiring a cross-lighting approach, while the busy Seine, nearby buildings, and residential areas demanded careful control of spill. Fabrice used the Proteus Maximus' framing shutters to precisely contain the output and prevent unwanted light.

The Elation lights were available in sufficient quantities from Dushow; CANAL LED has distributed Elation for several years. The lighting was programmed over six days and two nights, and, despite weather-related challenges that forced the teams to dismantle and reinstall the equipment to replace wind-torn fabric and then redo the programming, the project was a great success.

"For me, the success of the design came from making the lighting feel a natural part of the artwork," Azoulay says. "Everything had to serve the architecture, the interaction, and the atmosphere, and when all of those elements came together, the lighting became part of the experience."