Situated in front of the main entrance to the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Sports Centre in Benny Park, Source is an organically shaped painted-bronze sculpture formed of multiple levels or branches of textured materials held up on three “legs” that form a triangle on the ground. The visually and symbolically rich sculpture takes its inspiration from processes and transformations engendered by natural phenomena. With its different circular levels, the sculpture evokes a waterfall, rivers pouring blue-tinted water onto the ground, a dowser’s wand, and – through its texture, obtained by an accumulation of materials – stalactites testifying to the passage of time. With its fluidity and its theme, Coutu’s sculpture also refers to the current vocation of the site, which contains a public swimming pool and marks a central point in the landscape. Source is Coutu’s first work of public art commissioned by the Ville de Montréal.

This work was produced in the context of construction which fell under the Québec government’s la Politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture et à l’environnement des bâtiments et des sites gouvernementaux et publics.