Each night a 19th century star
map is projected onto the
pavement of Place d’Armes.
The map displays Montreal’s
first office tower, a red
sandstone building ...
The equinox occurs twice a
year, around March 21 and
September 22. When
viewed from the promenade
of rue de la Commune on
the equinoxes, the Sun...
Four stainless steel plaques
are mounted on the cloister
pillars of the Union Street
entrance to the courtyard
behind Christ Church
Cathedral. Each of the...
Looking up from the plaza
outside the main entrance
of 1981 McGill College
Avenue, viewers see a slice
of sky framed on three
sides by the office...
Place d’Armes
Rue de la Commune
Place de la Cathédrale
Rue McGill College
"Such a [place] is called by the Romans mundus, a name that also applied to the heavens. Thereupon
it was encircled, like the center of a compass, to mark the circumference of the city." - Plutarch
Conceived and produced by Alison Tett. Reseached by Louie Bernstein. Designed by Katsuhiro Yamazaki and Sophie Desrosiers.
Mundus originally meant both
the center of a town and the
cosmos. This concept inspired
four installations in downtown
Montreal that use existing
architecture as sightlines to
help viewers find stars.
Summer Triangle drawing by Katsuhiro Yamazaki; map of circumpolar constellations adapted from James Middleton’s Celestial Atlas
(1842); drawing of New York Life Insurance building by Katsuhiro Yamazaki; photo of Polaris en lumière by Steve Bilodeau Balatti;
photo of Equinox sunrise by Louie Bernstein; photo of Four Seasons installation by Elliot Selick; photo of 1981 McGill College by
Elliot Selick.
