Near Lake Saint-Louis, twenty-six blue-coloured letters rise out of the ground to different heights, creating curved lines reminiscent of waves. The letters form three words: “PARTIRENT,” “DÉRIVÈRENT,” and “HORIZON.”

The meaning of these words – “they departed,” “they drifted,” “horizon” – evoking a voyage or ocean crossing, is supported by the positioning and colour of the letters, which refer to the two spaces of travel that are water and sky. Viewers strolling in the park can thus observe the horizon and fantasize about leaving on a journey.

Monument pour L is notable for its integration into the landscape. Originally, there were 350 steps between the shore and the artwork, giving the impression of a coming-and-going between the two elements. In 2000, for conservation reasons, the space was relandscaped to include two paths: one linking the artwork to a circle surrounded by bushes symbolizing a temporary encampment; the other to a shrub that commemorates those lost at sea. Thus, the words forming the artwork should be understood not as a message transmitted but as an appeal to a poetic reading of the site and its semantic potential.

Monument pour L was created to be presented on the banks of the Lachine Canal. However, it was first on display at the first Salon international de la sculpture extérieure, an event organized in 1992 by the Centre des arts contemporains du Québec à Montréal for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Montréal. The exhibition of monumental and environmental sculptures, with the theme “Aux quatre vents” (To the Four Winds), included 12 works created for the occasion on the promenade of the Old Port of Montréal. After the event ended, Goulet’s artwork was installed at its permanent site in Parc Fort-Rolland in Lachine.