One man traveling in his Canadian flag adorned motorhome is crisscrossing the country in an effort to unite the nation.
As Prince George residents approach Tim Van Horn's home on wheels, they want to take pictures, and one man even knocked on the door and offered to buy the thing, despite Van Horn's clear explanation that this wasn't his holiday vehicle but his full time home and it wasn't for sale.
"Take my number anyway, in case you change your mind," the stranger said. Van Horn took it and shook his head with a smile.
When taking a closer look at the motorhome, it becomes clear the Canadian flag is made up of images. Faces from across the nation adorn his four-wheeled home to create the flag, an image that symbolizes Van Horn's mission to unite the country.
It's his Canadian Mosaic Project.
"I will be downtown Prince George shooting people in various backgrounds in the city," said photographer Van Horn, who is on his way to Prince Rupert and returning to Prince George on Sept. 21.
Van Horn never really knows how long he'll be in one spot. He will ask a person if he can take their photo and suddenly he has to meet the man's cousin who does this and that and then that turns into a dinner invitation and everything takes longer than anticipated - not that he'd trade those experiences for the world. It's just plans change all the time.
"I have to consider this a pilgrimage and I'm venturing out with all-seeing eyes," said Van Horn. "I'm trying to receive everything openly and I really didn't know what I was getting into when I first started this seven years ago."
He thought he was leaving for a year. When he left, he thought he had worldly views but that proved to be wrong, he said.
"So I have gone through this evolution myself where I have shed all these skins where I have become totally open to everybody and see everybody as equal," said Van Horn. "Now I am on the street corner challenging people to be part of this - respectfully challenging them - I'm not pushing them - but I am questioning them. There is a lot of skepticism in our society and people don't trust like they used to so when someone comes up and says 'Hey, I'd like to take your picture' some are like 'oh no, no, no no!"
Van Horn believes the mistrust speaks to the state of the country and he hopes a project like his will counter that a little bit, he said.
"It's something warm, it's something palatable, it's something all encompassing that everybody can say 'Wow, this is amazing, I feel great to be part of this great big place we call Canada.'," said Van Horn. "When I started this it was more about me going on this trip and hey I get to go on this adventure and now it's not about me, it's about the people, it's about doing this thing justice."
Van Horn said he is now on a digital pilgrimage.
"It's now about doing good, to bring us together, to listen to the tempo of the people and to reflect what it is they're telling me and showing me," said Van Horn.
The project comes to a grand finale in 2017 on Canada Day in Victoria when a 40-foot multimedia pavilion on wheels will launch a 365-day cross-Canada tour that will feature 54,000 portraits in the Canadian flag mosaic that will create a conversation amongst Canadians to unite them in a positive way, Van Horn explained.
"It's all about inspiring us to believe in ourselves, to reactivate citizenship, to encourage people to feel like part of the community and it's something the country can follow during the 150th birthday year," said Van Horn. "It's not enough to have a big party in Ottawa, we need something in downtown Prince George to celebrate something cultural. It will cause a ripple of excitement and hopefully make everyone feel a part of Canada."
