Through a reflection on inhabiting, Geneviève Thibault questions the so-called boundaries between public and private space, identity and otherness, intimate territory and the social fabric, as well as the forces at work in the act of inhabiting. Her concerns, which all converge on the question of living in a territory, have led her to Indigenous studies, the study of ethnology and artistic practice. She uses photography, video and writing to give shape to her inquiries in different spaces, be they real or virtual.

Her practice unfolds through an encounter with otherness, in the home environments she visits without prior notification. Since 2016, she has been engaged in the artistic manoeuvre J'habite au 148, which consists of making unannounced visits to people who live at the 148 street address, to talk about subjects that were not previously determined, and to subsequently create a portrayal of the person by way of writing and a photograph depicting a fragment of the domestic space. The gesture—stepping out of her house and knocking on the doors of strangers—contributes to her emancipation from the systems that she feels alienated by. Her current research aims to transform her methods and to improve the equilibrium of the interpersonal relationships that they bring about. During his residency, the artist will work on the photobook J’habite au 148. She will consider creating a more user-friendly form of the agreement document between herself and the people she meets at addresses 148.

Geneviève Thibault lives and works in Matane. She has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. In 2019, she was awarded the Prix international des Nouvelles Écritures (Freelens, France) for the short multimedia work L'amour, la mort... She teaches photography at the Cégep de Matane while also pursuing a MFA at  Université du Québec en Outaouais.