As part of MOMENTA, Montreal’s most experimental fall contemporary art biennale, PHI is exhibiting a psychedelic video installation by Josèfa Ntjam.
Like the MOMENTA biennial, the exhibition opens to the public on Wednesday, September 10.
MOMENTA, Eulogies of the missing image
MOMENTA celebrates its 19th edition this year, and its first as a contemporary art biennale. The biennial takes place in 11 venues across Montreal. Various exhibitions featuring the work of 23 Canadian and international artists will be presented from September 10, 2025.
Marie-Ann Yemsi, curator of this edition of the biennale, says that “certain images are missing” and that the theme of this year’s MOMENTA reflects this lack and its impact on contemporary society. When an image is missing, artists reinvent, recreate or sublimate it. PHI curator Cheryl Sim says, “Thank God for art!
A cosmogony without beginning or end; Swell of Spaec(i)es by Josèfa Ntjam
Josèfa Ntjam, a French artist, writer and performer, describes her installation Swell of Spaec(i)es as the culmination of a long research project. Mythology, evolution and the migration of plankton in Venetian waters – she has worked with and questioned scientists all over the world, to create a new cosmogony.
The definition of “cosmogony”, according to the Office québécois de la langue française, is “the theory (scientific or often expounded in mythical form) explaining the origin and formation of the universe, or of certain celestial objects.”
The 23-minute video at the center of the installation unfolds what Josèfa calls a “science-fiction ecosystem”, a creative myth without beginning or end – in continuous metamorphosis. The music that accompanies the psychedelic images, composed by Fatima Al Quadiri, gives the film an aura of timeless legend.
The result is fascinating, almost hypnotic, and a must-see during the MOMENTA biennial.
Practical info
PHI is the new name for the Centre PHI and the Fondation PHI pour l’art contemporain, and the three exhibition spaces are now unified under a single identity.
The ticketing model, which until now has been free (with compulsory reservation), is now flexible.
- PHI+/access to all exhibitions until March 8, 2026; from $35
- regular Exhibitions ticket; $20
- Reduced ticket; $16
- Soft ticket; $10
- Solidaire ticket; $30
Where? Swell of Spaec(i)es is on view at 407 rue Saint-Pierre
When? September 10, 2025 – January 11, 2026 / PHI is open Wednesday to Friday from noon to 7 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm.
Enjoy your visit!