KITCHENER WATERLOO ART GALLERY

Marc Ngui and Magda Wojtyra:LET’SGLOWJanuary 18 – March 4, 2012Opening Reception: Friday, January 20, 7 - 9 pmArtist’s Talk: Tuesday, January 17, 7 pmAllegories rely on symbolic representation,rather than language to convey ideas. Artcritic and activist Craig Owens proposed thatallegory be reclaimed from the realm of tritestorytelling and be recognized for “what ismost proper to it: its capacity to rescue fromhistorical oblivion that which threatens todisappear.” 1 For Cambridge-based art anddesign duo Marc Ngui and Magda Wojtyra,allegory becomes a tool to reinvent familiarnarratives of willpower and perseverance.Central to Let’s Glow are the Crystal Kings(Luciferous Radii), an imaginary groupof self-generated beings conceived incollaboration between Ngui and Wojtyra.Resembling a hybrid of biological forms andcrystalline rock structures found in caves,these brightly coloured creatures seem tofluoresce. The creatures are brought to lifethrough a variety of means which, when seentogether, form an exuberant counterpoint tothe monochromatic nature of winter. Througha series of animated videos, painted portraits,and an undulating, dimensional quilt-likesculpture, Ngui and Wojtyra create a playfulnatural history of evolution in the dark.Working collaboratively since 2000, MarcNgui and Magda Wojtyra both studiedarchitecture at the University of Waterloo.Their projects often merge craft anddesign with influences from subjects asdiverse as comics, biochemistry, models ofhuman consciousness, physics, and culturaliconography. Wojtyra and Ngui will be inresidence from January 3 – 9 in the Gallery’sco|lab space to complete textile componentsfor their exhibition. Visitors are encouragedto stop by the Gallery to meet the artists andlearn more about their studio processes.1 Craig Owens, “The Allegorical Impulse: Toward a Theoryof Postmodernism” in October, Vol. 12. (Spring, 1980), 68IMAGE: Marc Ngui and Magda Wojtyra, Crystal King Mothbear,2011, acrylic gouache on paper, 66 x 51 cm.