Claude Lamarche’s sculpture is situated in the garden in front of the entrance to Bibliothèque L’Octogone. This monumental artwork is in the form of a giant yellow-coloured steel arrow that points toward the ground and sinks into a concrete pyramid. On the upper end of the rod is hooked another, smaller, red-coloured arrow. This arrow is curved providing a contrast with the rigidity of the main thrust and creating tension between the two principal elements. This grouping gives the impression that the smaller arrow is being used to straighten the larger one, which is leaning at a 70-degree angle.

The objective of Signal dans l’espace is to signify the mark of the creative gesture in the environment. Self-reflexive, this artwork thus points to itself, as well as pointing to an important cultural site within the city: the library. Thus, it is a comment by the artist on culture: “This work signals the need to encourage creative acts and freedom of expression” is inscribed on a small plaque attached to the concrete base. The rough craftsmanship of the materials and the theme of the signage are both recurrent in the artist’s public works of art.

The work was commissioned by the former Ville de LaSalle through a competition at the time of construction of Bibliothèque L’Octogone, in 1983. The commission fell under the Québec government’s Politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture et à l’environnement.