An imposing public work by Montreal artist Patrick Bernatchez languishes in the central square of the brand new MIL campus of the University of Montreal, in Outremont, which is buzzing with activity with the return of face-to-face classes this fall.
Almost 20 m high and 5 m wide, the steel and concrete work that represents part of the surface of the Moon was a technical puzzle to put together. More than $ 1 million were needed to make it happen.
The work is unique in that it incorporates “a climbing wall [qui] represents the hidden face of the Moon, ”the Montreal Public Art Bureau announced when the project was selected in 2019.
The artist delivered the work more than a year ago, but the City of Montreal never authorized the climbing, and the layout of the wall remains unfinished.
My work was designed from the start around the idea of climbing. That’s why I made it so wide and so massive. Otherwise I would have done something much thinner.
Patrick Bernatchez, multidisciplinary artist
For climbing enthusiasts, the fact that the structure designed for the practice of this sport is inaccessible is “nonsense”, says Pascal Lauzon, a Montreal climber.
” It’s frustrating. The possibilities are immense. It is a beautiful project, well done. It is already built, already paid for. Why can’t we use it? It’s beyond me, ”he says.
Mr. Lauzon has spent months making phone calls to the Borough of Outremont, the Bureau d’art public de la Ville de Montréal and the Fédération québécoise de la montagne et de l’escalade (FQME).
“Nobody seems to want to get into this. Nobody gives me an answer… It’s a shame for the community, because there are hundreds of climbers who would like to go there. With the pandemic, everyone is looking to do physical activity in the city, but here it is blocked. ”
The question has not changed, laments the artist
In order to limit unauthorized access to the work, Patrick Bernatchez started the climbing routes several meters above the ground. Once in the open position, two huge steel doors locked into the structure complete the routes and are to serve as starting points for climbers.
At its top, the work is equipped with several anchoring points installed so that climbers can hang their ropes.
The artist even took care to place electric wires inside the structure, so that electric torches, cameras or motion detectors could be easily installed in the future without having to run wires through the structure. exterior of the structure.
“The Public Art Bureau stressed me for two years to get it done on time, but the artwork is not used, and no one can give me a deadline,” says Bernatchez. There is no collaboration on their part, ”he said, adding that the project was accepted almost three years ago, and that the issue of supervising the practice of climbing does not seem to have changed. since.
Camille Bégin, media relations for the City of Montreal, notes that the City is currently working to supervise the practice of climbing supervised by an operator so that it is carried out optimally and safely at this location.
“We are collaborating with the Quebec Mountain and Climbing Federation for the drafting of several usage protocols aimed at defining the conditions for safe climbing wall practice when holding climbing activities. These protocols will relate in particular to the opening of climbing routes, safety rules, operations for supervised climbing activities. ”
No date or timeline has been communicated so far.
It should be noted that the sculpture by Patrick Bernatchez is a work of public art with the function of being able to be climbed and not an ordinary climbing wall, says Mr.me Bégin. “This is a first for the City. ”
The work is titled 29.53, that is, the number of days it takes for the Moon to circle the Earth. To make the lunar surface, Patrick Bernatchez used high-precision images from NASA. The artist even “bought” a title deed to land located in the Sea of Serenity on the Moon, to reproduce it to scale on his work. “There are companies that sell land on the Moon. It is symbolic. I donated it to the people of Montreal. ”