Inhabiting / Cartography of the Imaginary
How can art help us respond to the political challenges of our time?
At a time when the housing crisis is in full swing and climate change is calling into question the way our cities are organized, the work of artists may seem secondary, or even superfluous. The works of Antoine Gautier, also known as TØ, brought together in the exhibition Habiter / Cartographie de l’imaginaire, instead show how the most imaginative fantasy can be put at the service of civic action.
The exhibition is particularly timely, both visually and thematically. The series of works indeed unfolds as so many variations on a single theme: the home, the city, and the way we inhabit the world.
This reflection begins with an image straight out of a childlike imagination: a vast tree no longer supporting a treehouse, but an entire city. More than a fantasy, this work, created in 2012 during a period of intense political ferment, symbolizes the ideal of a dwelling in harmony with the natural environment: “The tree was born from a reflection on the idea of an eco-village designed to coexist with its territory and its climate. The image was built as a dreamed place, inspired by those suspended treehouses where imagination began transforming nature into a refuge and a space for exploration,” says Antoine Gautier.
This intuition marks the beginning of a generous body of images created in painting, drawing, and fine art screen printing, sometimes fantastical, sometimes more firmly rooted in political reality. Cities more fantastic than the last follow one another: fish cities, cities built on a boat or in the gondola of a hot-air balloon, houses hidden inside everyday objects such as dressers, cameras, teapots, or matchboxes. A way of letting imagination run free, but also of casting a new gaze on our everyday spaces—dreaming our habitats, inhabiting through dreaming.
In a second movement, this imaginary world turns toward social issues and civic action. “In a desire to inhabit the cities I draw differently, I wanted to invite others to take part. Rather than dreaming alone, I chose to open this process to those around me, so that these urbanisms could come to life.” Several works presented in this exhibition were thus produced within collaborative projects. Participants were invited to share their vision of the city and ask the artist to translate it visually. The exercise is particularly successful in Portrait Centre-Sud, a large painting created in 2025 in collaboration with the Centre-Sud Community Development Corporation.
Continuing this approach, the exhibition at the Artothèque de Montréal (Saint-Michel district) will also include a participatory space, inviting visitors to contribute to a collective work. This will then lead to a “Portrait of the Saint-Michel neighbourhood,” created by the artist based on the collected narratives and imaginaries.
It is perhaps here, when it unfolds in collaboration with local actors on the ground, that the imaginary developed by Antoine Gautier truly makes it possible to rethink the world we inhabit.
Exhibition: Habiter / Cartographie de l’imaginaire
Artist: Antoine Gautier (aka TØ)
Venue: L’Artothèque – Centre d’art visuel (3333 Crémazie Blvd)
Dates: August 19 – October 21, 2026
With the support of the Fondation Jacques Constans, Urban Art Foundation, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Credit: Izabeau Legendre