of fiction and faction: Cultivating a Revolution in Suburbia

This paper extends upon the research that informed the development of the exhibition of fiction and faction, presented at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto Scarborough from April 2026, 2018. Considering issues of ecological uncertainty, sustainability, and community building within the suburbs, this project examines the potential for revolution in suburbia, using Scarborough as its speculative case study. In a two-channel video installation that comprises the exhibitions main feature, two possibilities for collective action in suburbia are proposed: Scarborough Sourdough, a group of novice bakers establishing sourdough culture in Scarborough; and the Orange Jackets, a group of activists who don orange high-visibility hoodies and engage in direct action. Integrating actual places and events within an imagined narrative, this project attempts to form an alternative archive, complicating familiar notions of Canadian suburban life while foretelling possible futures.