Archipel is composed of 13 undulating elements representing puddles of water of different unique shapes and colours. The colourful assemblage evokes an aquatic landscape in perspective. The work’s title refers to its connections with its host site. Like the aquatic complex, which encompasses various services and uses, each part of the archipelago is considered an “island” with its own identity, and yet part of a larger grouping. Le Bel-Roux and Viau were inspired by the physical phenomena invoked by water for the formal aspect of Archipel: the feeling of weightlessness of immersed bodies and a sensation of floating emanate from the work. The undulating motion of bodies in pools is suggested by the relief elements of the pieces, which symbolize the movement produced by three drops of water falling to the surface of the water. Finally, the gradation of the colours from warm to cool evokes the reflection of the sky on the water.

The integration of an artwork at the Rosemont aquatic complex falls within the context of the Plan directeur culturel de Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie — 2021-2025, which provides for financing the production of a work of public art in the borough. The Bureau d’art public organized a competition by invitation for emerging contemporary artists who had never produced a permanent work of public art. This was the first initiative of this type for the Service de la culture de la Ville de Montréal.