Tashi Farmilo
LJI Reporter

À fleur d’eau , a multifaceted public art installation by Gatineau artist Mélanie Myers and the
Montreal-based urban design co-operative Le Comité, has been chosen for integration into the
redevelopment of the motor zone in Pointe-Gatineau. The work is scheduled for production in
autumn 2025, with installation set for spring 2026, pending final approval by Gatineau’s
municipal council.

The piece emerged from a competitive selection process that included public input and expert
deliberation. Earlier this year, residents of Pointe-Gatineau voted online for their preferred
artwork among three proposals. À fleur d’eau received the highest number of votes and was
also the unanimous choice of the selection committee. That decision was reached
independently of the public results.

According to Myers, the inspiration for the piece was rooted in a deep engagement with the
site’s history. “We researched the many floods that have disrupted the area over the decades,”
she said. “We wanted to create something functional, forward-looking, something that
acknowledges the site’s future as a park, a place to sit, observe, and measure the rising
waters.”

The artist’s collaboration with Le Comité was, in her words, a highly productive exchange of
strengths. “The co-op has strong structural design skills. They’re clever and innovative when it
comes to thinking through community spaces.” Myers explained that Le Comité would develop
the structural skeleton based on the project’s criteria, and then both parties would refine it
together through a shared artistic lens. “Eventually, we landed on the idea of arches embedded
with limnimetric scales.” These are vertical gauges traditionally used to measure water levels in
rivers or lakes, and in this context, they double as sculptural elements, blending utility with
symbolism in a flood-prone landscape.

The installation will feature seating, counters, and an arch structure, including a hand-sculpted
water-level gauge cast in bronze. The work not only serves an aesthetic and recreational
function but is also a tangible record of the site’s hydrological memory. “In a direct way, it
dialogues with the rising water,” said Myers. “It offers a measurement tool that’s accessible to
citizens and makes the data of floods feel real. The memory of the site is reactivated every
spring.”

For residents and visitors who encounter the piece next spring, Myers hopes the experience will
be both contemplative and grounded in the land’s layered history. “They’ll be in a green space
near the river, but physically standing on the foundations of deconstructed homes,” she said.
“The place is inhabited, maybe even haunted, by its past. À fleur d’eau invites people to pause
and live with the elements, not fight against them.”​

City councillor Isabelle N. Miron, chair of the Commission for the Arts, Culture, Letters and
Heritage, welcomed the announcement. “This public art project reflects the City’s commitment to
transforming urban spaces into unique and resilient places to live. À fleur d’eau is not only a
beautiful piece, but a reminder of our shared history and our relationship with the environment.”

Photo: À fleur d’eau , a sculptural public art installation by Mélanie Myers and Le Comité, has
been chosen to anchor the revitalization of Gatineau’s flood-affected Pointe-Gatineau sector,
offering both a contemplative space and a living tribute to the site’s watery history. (TF) Photo:
Courtesy