This installation is situated on the shore of Lake Saint-Louis, in a grassy area between a bike path and a waterway. A photographic image of clouds has been applied by serigraphy onto three columns placed visually between the water and the sky, which extend to infinity behind them. Resembling a mini-amphitheatre, Theatre for Sky Blocks blurs the boundaries between real and imaginary. A simple bench made of granite and painted steel, placed near the three monoliths, invites passersby to take in the artwork from a very precise point of view. The rigid, static nature of the columns, which stand out against the horizon, contrasts with the constantly varying shapes of the real clouds.

The artist, Linda Covit, frequently creates minimalist sculptural artworks that encourage contemplation. Theatre for Sky Blocks is one of these artworks. By orienting the gaze and choosing a unique perspective for looking at the columns, Covit is pursuing an approach typified by Japanese gardens. This theatrical artwork ultimately proposes that viewers pause as they walk by to refresh their reading of the landscape around them.

Theatre for Sky Blocks was first exhibited 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 foundation 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, Covit’s artwork was installed at its permanent site, Parc Fort-Rolland in Lachine.