Once upon a time, there was a modern people. One day, its men and women said to themselves: “Let us raise a tower, atop which we shall light a beacon that will be seen from anywhere; that way, we shall always know exactly where we are in the middle of everywhere.” So they set to work right away. The finished tower wasn’t quite straight, but could be clearly seen. Its builders were happy. Life would be better from then on, they thought…

A lighthouse calling to mind a Tower of Babel, a one-eyed drill, and a clandestine grocery basket are some of the figures imagined by Clément de Gaulejac in his visual and sound installation created especially for young audiences aged 8 to 12. In a world at once playful and enigmatic, the artist invites us to reflect on the myths that structure our understanding of the world, exploit our ability to make them our own, and—why not—reinvent them. How? Using a clever blend of humour, metaphorical inventions and linguistic games—de Gaulejac’s preferred tools for confronting the challenges of the modern world. Mediation activities specially designed for young and old alike accompany the exhibition and allow visitors to reflect, through play and subversions of meaning, on the paradoxical power of language, that remarkable tool for communication that remains a perpetual source of misunderstanding.

This project benefits from the financial support of the ministère de la Culture et des Communications and Ville de Montréal under the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal. In partnership with La mauvaise tête, La Maison Théâtre and CIBL.