Mastodo is a fountain-sculpture composed of a large bronze basin that tips when it is full of water. The water then flows in cascades into a concrete pool. The work served as a central pivot component of Agora, the environment designed by Daudelin as space of encounter and outdoor presentation site. Originally and for a short period following its installation, the basin tilted when it filled with water. Now, to better preserve the integrity of the artwork, the basin is fixed at an angle, referring to its past movement.

Mastodo is evidence of the artist’s constant interest in simple materials and volumes, as well as an aesthetic bordering on design. The contrast between the stability of the base, which seems immutable, and the tumultuous pouring of water explores the idea of harmony among nature, landscape, and urban constraints.

Agora was produced when Viger Square, situated on the site of an old public garden dating from the nineteenth century, was reconfigured. The old square, among the most beautiful gardens in the downtown core, and its hundred-year-old trees were slated to be razed to make way for construction of the Ville-Marie tunnel in 1976. Jointly with the Ville de Montréal, the Ministère des Transports du Québec asked artists Charles Daudelin, Claude Théberge, and Peter Gnass to produce a public square on the site. The restoration of the public artwork Mastodo in 2024, by artist Charles Daudelin, is part of phase 1 of the redevelopment of Square Viger (blocks I and II).