House of Bâby is a 35’ lenticular image. As the viewer moves, eighteen people come into focus from the blurred crowd. They represent eighteen of the Black and Indigenous people who were enslaved by the Bâby family in Toronto, Windsor and Detroit. Their unpaid labour produced great wealth for the family. This artwork imagines the group in our contemporary moment, no longer constrained by the past as property nor languishing in the obscurity of the archive. The artists, Camal Pirbhai and Camille Turner brought this group to life by representing them in this country’s busiest hub. Union Station’s majestic architecture symbolizes stability and civic pride but it is the people who are responsible for its strength.

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This project received grant funding as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-2022, a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it. This September, the City of Toronto invites the public to discover creativity and community – everywhere. Visit www.artworxTO.ca for full details.