The Vault, 2012

Thomas Blanchard - Toronto, Canada

Photography Installation

The artist investigates the dynamic tension between creation and destruction, preservation and change. Viewers will navigate through a photo-based light box and sound installation that presents a surreal world of frozen seeds and suspended floating roots. These sublime images of life in temporary suspension are embedded in long tubes that create distortions of reality and are accompanied by the sounds of the internal human landscape.

The Vault is located in a subterranean concrete space below Nathan Phillips Square, reminiscent of the global seed banks that inspired the work. The vaults are icons of mankind’s impact on the natural world, both negative and positive. Built in preparation for an environmental disaster of doomsday proportions, they hold the promise of life and immortality.

Thomas Blanchard is a photo-based artist living in Toronto. His most recent projects involve creating site specific installations with the use of photo light boxes and ambient sounds. His work addresses environmental and health problems that surround us but often go unnoticed.

Born in Rochester, N.Y., Thomas holds a Masters in Fine Arts from York University and a BFA from Ryerson University's Image Arts. He studied political science and geology at SUNY Potsdam, where he graduated with a BA in 1994.

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Toronto City Hall underground parking garage, 100 Queen Street West (Accessible from entrance ramp on Bay Street. Wheelchair accessible via "SEAL" elevator on Nathan Phillips Square.)

This project is indoors.