MOOD BOARD 1:

Even though hundreds of thousands of people died or were displaced from their homes during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, The Korean War, The Chernobyl Power Plant meltdown, or the creation of Scarborough (?), if you weren’t aware of these events, the wonderfully stylized art made during these times would leave you none the wiser. Bright colours and futurist messages left a happy tone on otherwise depressing situations. Murals of fresh food in a country known for famine. Colourful space stations on the peeling walls of an abandoned city. Endless rows of bland post-war housing. Beautiful frescos caked in human dust and volcanic ash! This mood board highlights the futuristic and often cheery feelings of the 50s and 60s art that still mostly remains in these mostly stuck-in-time locations! As an ode to the past, Hotspot aims to explore humanity’s many downfalls through the vision of a harmonious future never truly met.

MOOD BOARD 2:

It’s ironic that mankind’s plans for a better and safer tomorrow always end in devastation. Nuclear meltdowns, hermit kingdoms, volcanic eruptions, and the creation of a new west-end borough – These four events would have long-lasting negative effects on a global scale, but they would also leave the World quite intrigued. What now lies in these cesspits of sorrow, aside from war, famine, destruction, and the Scarborough Town Centre? By staying on a Hotspot resort, you might just find out. Using black and white photography and bleak imagery, this mood board shows Hotspot as a SERIOUS hospitality company that understands what devastation and pain really meant for the hundreds of thousands of people that were (and still are) affected by it – they also don't really care.

MOOD BOARD 3:

Who would’ve thought that an irradiated city would still be home to a wild cast of babushka’s and their feral dog pets? Or that a Ferris wheel would still stand amongst its bleak ruins? What kind of people live in the most secretive country on Earth? And what festivals do they partake in? How is a 2000-year-old city still one of the most telling landmarks of a long-gone empire, and who lived there so many years ago? Why does a cliff in “Scarberia” have some of Ontario’s best views – and water? This mood board takes on a positive spin by showing that there is more than meets the eye in these locations. There are unique people to meet, jaw-dropping places to see, and hidden histories around every corner – and lions.