The lofts Moreau was a building filled with creativity. The tenants were artists involved in their neighborhood. The community living there got evicted by the municipality of Montreal because the state of the building was considered unsecure and not conform. The multiple owners of the lofts let the building decrepit. The 38 studios will be transformed into 70 more expensive ones. This situation is linked to the gentrification process happening in Hochelaga-Maisoneuve a post-industrial district.
The police and the riot squad put pressure on the tenants to move out. The municipality countenanced the owner in this process without giving any help to the residents.
About the author:
Alexis Aubin is a Montreal-based photojournalist. Coming from a social science background, he started taking pictures during a cultural intership in Mexico. This first experience abroad convinced him to pursue a photographic career.
He discovered the potential of the photographic medium as a social actor. Then, he used it to document the social inequalities, the struggles and collaborations that they can generate. His work’s main focus is indigenous peoples of the New Continent, from South America to Quebec.
