54,000 portraits, 8 years: Photographer captures ever-changing Canadian mosaic

All of Canada, in one single visual Photographer Tim Van Horn has been on the road for years, capturing images of Canada’s people and places for his Canadian Mosaic project.

What does it mean to be Canadian? The thought will likely be on many people’s minds as the country celebrates its 150th birthday this year.

But for Alberta-based photographer Tim Van Horn, it’s a question he has spent a gruelling eight years on the road trying to answer.

“I’m trying to inspire people with the universal story of life that’s going on here in Canada,” the 47-year-old told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview from Calgary.

Since 2008, Van Horn has travelled throughout Canada, amassing an impressive collection of 54,000 images as part of a photo project exploring culture and diversity that will go on display this spring.

After visiting 1,200 communities across the country, Van Horn said he’s realized what unifies Canadians: the ability to set aside their many differences to create a peaceful and accepting environment for all.

“I keep coming back to this particular scenario that a Canadian just wants to be able to walk to the park with their kid, to raise a family, to have a safe environment to live in,” he said.

A Syrian family poses for a family photo for the Canadian mosaic project on Canada Day 2016 in Calgary, Alta. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

From a photo of a relieved family of Syrian refugees arriving in Canada to a First Nations woman standing up to have indigenous peoples’ history acknowledged to a multi-ethnic couple in Halifax, the common theme of Van Horn’s images is that Canadian culture exists thanks to the country’s diversity—not in spite of it.

“When I was a kid, it was meat and potatoes. Now, we have curry, we have tacos (and) we have sushi. We have all these foods that have infused our diet,” he said. “I like to think of culture that way. That’s a very special thing we have here in Canada.”

A couple poses at Pier 21 in Halifax, N.S. in 2014. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

A 'modern-day pilgrimage'

The Canadian Mosaic photo project, which is funded entirely by public donations, was initially intended to be a one-year journey leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver that would result in the photographer’s second self-published book.

Van Horn, however, said he quickly began to see the mosaic as his calling, setting off on what he describes as a “modern-day pilgrimage.”

A First Nations woman is seen at the ‘Idle No More’ protest in Vancouver B.C. in January of 20143. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

“I started to realize that Canada is this beautiful new country, but there was no face to put to it,” he said. “There was no image, no group of photographs that talked about our cultural identity—the ever-changing Canadian mosaic.”

That’s when Van Horn began to focus on shooting portraits of Canadians from all walks of life, starting at McGill University in Montreal in 2008. He finished the year with more than 2,000 photos.

The photographer spent the next eight years travelling in his van, affectionately named “Maple,” documenting the lives of a large cross-section Canadians, from children growing up British Columbia to the unique culture of Quebec.

A Girl Guide in Nanaimo, B.C. proudly displays her badges in this photo taken in 2015. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

In order to capture Canadian diversity as authentically as possible, Van Horn spent several hours each day on the street asking to photograph every passerby, without exception.

“I have to remove myself out of the selection process because, essentially this is supposed to be anyone and everyone,” he said.

A couple poses near Parc Street in Montreal for the annual Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in 2013. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

On the road again

On May 20, the finished Canadian Mosaic project will go on display as a part of a year-long, cross-country tour called “To Canada With Love.”

Van Horn’s 54,000 portraits will be displayed as a mosaic arranged into the shape of a Canadian flag printed on the side of an RV that will act as what he calls a “mobile pavilion.” The RV will stop in 150 prominent and historically significant locations across Canada where it will be accessible to the public. The tour will last exactly 365 days.

A Canadian flag made of portraits taken by Tim Van Horn is seen in this provided image. (Tim Van Horn / Canadian Mosaic)

“I think when people see and witnesses this collection of 54,000 photos, that they will feel that it’s an authentic reflection of our cultural identity,” he said. “Everyone will be able to stand in front of this thing and see themselves reflected.”

The display will also include 13 ribbons of text that will showcase Canadian place names, facts about Canada, the national anthem, statistics about the country, and quotes by Canadians and about Canada.

Van Horn also plans to produce a series of “My Canada” vignettes asking people what the country means to them that will be turned into a documentary at the end of 2017.

“This bus will set out as this sort of cultural identity research vehicle,” he said.

Van Horn will also be posting updates on his journey to the project’s Facebook page.

'Excruciating sacrifices'

Van Horn said that, while the Mosaic project has been rewarding, he has also had to make some “excruciating sacrifices.”

“My project is my life now,” he said. “I used to have friends. I used to have a dresser with clothes in it. Now, I live out of a bag and nobody ever knows where I am most of the time.”

Photographer and Canadian Mosaic project director Tim Van Horn is seen in this social media photo. (Tim Van Horn / Facebook)

But Van Horn said the sacrifice has been well worth it.

“As difficult as this has been, I can justify it because I feel that…there’s a real need to unify and to celebrate life and to talk about oneness,” he said. “I’ve sacrificed a tremendous amount but really, when you think of it, your life is meant to have a purpose. It’s meant to count.”

Even after eight laborious years, Van Horn, who has made it his mission to bring his project to as many Canadians as he can, has no plans of stopping.

Starting in 2018, he said he wants to do an annual four-month tour, revamping the mobile display each year with new technology and new images.

“I’m doing this because I see a real need more than ever before to unite and celebrate life here in Canada,” he said. “To cease at this point just doesn’t make sense.”