La Grande Hermine (The Big Weasel) is commonly referred to as a unique eyesore. The abandoned vessel rests along the western shore of Lake Ontario, beside the QEW highway between St. Catharines and Hamilton.
In 1535, Jacques Cartier sailed the original La Grande Hermine up the St. Lawrence River. In the 1960s, a replica vessel was built and operated as a floating restaurant during Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec.
In the 1990s, a young entrepreneur purchased this unrelated replica of La Grande Hermine and sailed it down the St. Lawrence and moored it in its current location, intending to reopen it as a floating restaurant. The entrepreneur went bankrupt shortly thereafter and his dream was never realized.
In 2003, the ship was destroyed by what police called a suspicious fire.
I spent at least an hour pondering and testing the ice, considering boarding and exploring it stowaway style. As I got further out I noticed birds nests and plant life aboard the ship. The warm weather and newly visible cracks in the ice deterred me from risking it, and a discussion took place regarding a potential return in late spring or early summer. I hope to one day bring an inflatable raft out that way and board the ship with a disposable camera or two.
Ninjalicious, (R.I.P) widely regarded as the grandfather of urban exploration, captured La Grande Hermine in her newly abandoned glory, click here to check out his post.
"The Blue Light Project..." that's what he said to me when I asked what it was called. Perplexed and intrigued, I responded to his original question vehemently. Yes, of course I would help design the cover for the American publisher, Soft Skull, it would be an honour. And I was still pondering it months later as we wandered the alleys of Main Street, looking for the spot, Timo and I. A brush dipping in and out of a yoghurt container full of cellulose paste delivered the words to the city. Words that my hands had already stencilled to paper but my mind had been unable to get over-THE BLUE LIGHT PROJECT. The Station Street alley, where the cascading confession once stood, and the roof of the Dominion Building too, we pasted up those intriguing words-THE BLUE LIGHT PROJECT.
Timothy Taylor is becoming widely identified as one of Canada's elite authors. His first novel, the Giller Prize nominated 'Stanley Park' is a delicious literary feast that had readers eagerly awaiting seconds, and thirds. On March 1st, 2011, the wait is over. After just flipping the last page of the advance galley, for the second time, I can assure you that it fully satiates. I couldn't put it down, twice. A disgraced journalist, an Olympic gold medallist, a street artist named Rabbit, and a three day hostage crisis, oh and...THE BLUE LIGHT PROJECT.
Beyer, a friend of Rabbit, infamous for his FAITH WALL image, sent me these pictures. The image: A screaming punk, and the words, FAITH WALL. Millions of these stickers are up across the world in The Blue Light Project. But as of late Beyer has been sending images my way. All across Canada, hundreds and hundreds adorn mail crates travelling between Post Offices country-wide. Thousands of these stickers have gone up already from Vancouver to Montreal. Its begun to show up in Seattle and California, Michigan, and even appears to have just crossed the pond. The large poster image was pasted up by associates of Beyer, on Main St. in Vancouver. The stickers were shot all across Canada.
The original cover concept was a traditional jermalism style scroll, up in the street...
The advance galley...
The Canadian cover...
Working alongside Jason Snyder from Soft Skull was a pleasure, and when he proposed using the cascading confession in the manner in which he did, I was humbled. My deepest secret, that I held onto for 29 years before exposing anonymously on the streets of Vancouver, would now sit prominently on the shelves of book stores across America, representing an author that I admire and respect, a friend that I adore, and a novel that I love.
The book is already garnering some high praise...
"The Blue Light Project slows down today's accelerated world in order to sympathetically probe the constraints of celebrity, public art, and biopolitics in the context of contemporary terrorism. At the core of this suspenseful novel is a hostage crisis that is terrifyingly real. Taylor forces us to consider probabilities. What might happen at the confluence of fear, love, and hope?
Just as Taylor's first novel Stanley Park concludes with one of the most memorable meals in contemporary literature, the final illumination in The Blue Light Project will haunt readers for decades to come. Writing at times with the incisive vision of Margaret Atwood, the broken lyricism of Michael Ondaatje, the social realism of Rohinton Mistry, and the brutal honesty of Douglas Coupland, Timothy Taylor now firmly ranks among Canada's finest authors. The Blue Light Project is an important book. Pay attention."
-Laura Moss
The Blue Light Project hits bookstores on March 1st, 2011.
Go get it.
The FAITH WALL stickers are hitting cities everywhere.
Keep your eyes open.
Thanks for everything Timo, your kindness and support has been a true blessing. Respect.
