artist-in-residence

Mathilde Forest

Mathilde Forest is a Canadian visual artist interested in the aesthetic and sociological dimensions of territorial transformation. Often working with the serial form of inventory, her projects stage changing landscapes or recreate their imprints. Forest seeks to provoke reflection on our relationship with the land, particularly with regard to the concepts of disappearance and conservation. Field exploration and consultation with scientists from various disciplines are integral parts of her creative process.
Mathilde Forest holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Concordia University and a master’s degree in social sciences from Laval University. She is a research associate at the Research Center on Social Innovation and Transformation at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at the Rencontres de la photographie en Gaspésie (2018), the Maison de la culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal (2019), Skol (2020), the Atelier Mondial in Basel, Switzerland (2021), Occurrence (2024), and Hangar 7826 (2025).
Photo credit: Mathieu Gagnon

Photo credit: Mathieu Gagnon

about

Necropolis : les villes-récifs

Necropolis : les villes-récifs is a video and sound installation that reconstructs bleached coral landscapes— true abandoned cities—that now line the ocean floor. Using an underwater camera and hydrophones, the piece offers a glimpse into these immense reefs that have been left vacant by living organisms. These coral cities, built from mineral structures, are gradually being deserted as the heat and acidity of the water make them unsuitable for marine life.

In her process of collecting images and sounds, the artist often dived in the company of fishermen and marine gatherers. They were able to guide her on the importance of the sites to be documented through the stories collected.

Through both visuals and sound, this project will evoke the concepts of disappearance and conservation, through observations of the disintegration of these marine ecosystems. The collection was made during diving trips in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

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