The interior garden of Bibliothèque Marc-Favreau contains the 22 suspended panels of the artwork Constellation en Sol, a sculptural grouping extending from the ground floor to the roof of the building. The flat, five-sided panels, made in part of recycled materials, have colourful translucent motifs printed on them, evoking the patchwork costume worn by Marc Favreau when he portrayed his character. The artwork echoes the architectural concept of the site, strongly imbued with Sol’s spirit, and profits from the light that penetrates into this section of the library through large glass partitions.

The play of the panels suspended in the space forms a fluid, naïve sculpture inspired by the lyrical and poetic tonality of Sol’s speeches. Although apparently simple, the installation is composed of a group of carefully orchestrated panels whose complex structure is reminiscent of the comedian’s skill in juggling words and weaving new meanings.

Marc Favreau, born in Montréal in 1929, caught the public’s imagination through his character Sol, a poet-philosopher-vagabond. Created in 1958 for the Radio-Canada television program La Boîte à surprises, Sol was then the co-star of the show Sol et Gobelet, also a Radio-Canada production, and later took to stages all over the world with his monologues. He spoke about subjects such as politics, culture, and daily life in a colourful language that Favreau invented. Favreau died in Montréal on December 17, 2005.