The afterlives of books that set about changing society / Les vies ultérieures des livres qui tentent de changer la société (2009)
Largely inspired by the decolonisation discourse that emanated from Third World countries at the end of the 1950s, a distinct francophone identity - one which was socially dominated and economically colonised - emerged (or re-surged) in Quebec throughout the 1960s. This identity became the cornerstone for a diverse cross section of intellectuals, including poets, novelists, essayists, union leaders, and activists, who made extensive use of written culture to communicate ideas of liberation and propagate the nationalist cause.
Les vies ultérieures des livres qui tentent de changer la société (The afterlives of books that set about changing society) is a photographic series that bears witness to this radicalised social and political imaginaire that germinated in Quebec, and highlights the hybridity of referents and global exchanges that were so characteristic of the movement. Most of the books, pamphlets, and other publications that have been photographed for the series were found in public collections. They include first-editions and re-editions, translations, as well as subsequent texts concerned with the period.