Ottawa's vision of the future

Canadian PULSE Project II: The East

In ‘The Canadian PULSE Project’, Canadian Artist Bruce Thomas considers the Canadian landscape now 100 years after artist Tom Thomson made his quintessential Canadian landmark paintings.

Tom Thomson defined in part our national identity through his sense of adventure and the innate emotional/spiritual relationship with the Canadian landscape and the cultural history he identified with it.

Using research, discussions with today’s Canadians and today’s technology to form the basis of his multi-media project, Bruce Thomas set out last summer from Toronto, with his family, and traveled to British Columbia on the first leg of a three-leg tour. He interviewed more than 150 Canadians about Canada’s new landscape identity. His field recordings and drawings were synthesized and condensed into thirty ‘single frame’ mixed media compositions using his proprietary production process and produced for a three-day show in December 2009 at the Lennox Contemporary gallery.

As a result of his research and feedback from the show, Bruce concluded that 21st Century Canada is about how we manage our natural resources: it's about our goodwill with the elements and support for the corporations and industry groups that govern their harvesting, management and sustainability.

In this next leg of his tour, Bruce posits the question: What can I personally do to sustainable our Natural elements in Canada? So, in this second phase of his Canadian PULSE Project, Bruce traveled by air from Revelstoke, B.C. to Halifax and made his way back to Toronto, interviewing Eastern Canadians as he went in order to pulse their perspectives. The selection of the audio and video footage collected is posted to Bruce’s blog at: http://portableinspiration.blogspot.com/

The interviews were again synthesized and condensed onto canvas for this exhibition.

Why is a dialogue/interview the selected foundation of the creative process?
Enrolling people using there own voice to empower themselves promotes taking ownership. As Canadian, I believe we can have a practical impact on the policies that govern our natural resources. And, for the record, I am “pro” joining resource-based industries to help advocate my position.

Why the stewardship of our Natural resources and technological advancements is paramount to Canada's cultural identity for the next 100 years?
The world is only getting smaller... without the basic necessities of life which is our most valuable asset in Canada, these inspirations would not be possible.

What can we do?
I’ve used gold, copper and other minerals, water, wind and history to start a transcontinental movement, spanning the country from sea to sea, uniting the country in a singular purpose: the awareness of our landscape and its sustainability. I’m using today’s technology and all my creative acumen to hopefully inspire us