Girafes is a steel sculpture 11.8 metres high whose shape evokes a group of four giraffes.

The artwork is formed of steel rods used as they would be in a structure frame. The simple, common material contrasts with the surprising complexity of the composition. The shapes of the rods describe broken circles and curves, recurrent elements in Roussil’s work, that transform the apparent rigidity of the material into a sculpture that is transparent and light.

The rods also create a volume and produce an effect of unity, so that the metamorphosis of the material draws the gaze and becomes the subject of the artwork. The artist conceived the work of the sculptor similarly: “One must destroy things in a way to return to one’s equilibrium.” 1

1. Marcel Fournier, “Entretiens: Robert Roussil ou l’esprit d’entreprise,” Les générations d’artistes (L’institut québécois de recherche sur la sculpture, 1986), p. 111 (our translation).

The artwork was commissioned in 1966 by the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition to stand outside the Garden of Stars during the event. In 1971, after it was restored by the artist, the artwork was installed in Place de la Russie on Île Notre-Dame; it was moved to its current site in 1974.