UW Fine Arts MFA Thesis Two: James Malzahn | Elise Popa May 14-30th

[Arts Communications]

UW Fine Arts MFA Thesis Two: James Malzahn | Elise Popa



University of Waterloo Art Gallery

May 14-30

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 14, 5-8 pm



[James Malzahn_Manual_600px.jpg]


James Malzahn

The Victory Box


The Victory Box examines how powerful systems enter everyday life by appearing useful, convenient, entertaining, and reassuring. Presented as a modern domestic device for safety and public information, it carries the appeal of something new: a media object families could watch, gather around, and feel proud to own. While rooted in a mid-century setting, the exhibition speaks to contemporary concerns around artificial intelligence, networked surveillance, and persuasive media: tools with the potential to benefit society, but also to manipulate, misinform, observe, and control when placed in the wrong hands. Through documentary material, archival traces, domestic space, and electronic installation, the work asks how belief is created and how authority becomes part of ordinary life. Rather than treating innovation as inherently dangerous, The Victory Box encourages awareness and critical discussion, inviting viewers to consider how technology, trust, comfort, and convenience shape both private life and public belief.



James Malzahn is an interdisciplinary artist and MFA candidate at the University of Waterloo whose background in technology shapes a practice rooted in the belief that technological systems should benefit humanity. Working across traditional and digital media, installation, custom-built electronics, and code, he creates immersive environments that generate critical conversation about the real and potential misuses of technology and the ways these systems can harm society, perception, and public trust. Artist Website<https://jamesmalzahn.com/>



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[Elise Popa_A Fallow Year_600px.jpg]



Elise Popa

A Fallow Year



A Fallow Year tells the story of Popa’s own fallow season, encapsulated through an intuitive skating practice and the building of an ice rink on a farm just outside Stratford, Ontario. The documentation that follows the process of making the rink explores how the physical labour and repetitive maintenance tasks mirror the efforts needed to support the artist’s recovery and self-determination post heartbreak. The performance-for-camera works, in which a first-person body-mounted camera is worn, explores drawing and intuitive movement as a form of embodied agency. Through using the analogy of an agricultural fallow season, the exhibition portrays a regenerative year of self-healing and renewal after loss.



Elise Popa is an interdisciplinary artist and long-time figure skater from southern Ontario. She graduated from Brock University’s Bachelor of Arts Studio Art program in 2022, where she began exploring kinetic art practices. As a Master of Fine Arts candidate at University of Waterloo, Popa has developed her intuitive movement practice while embracing failure as a methodology: creating work that articulates movement on skates (inline or figure) as a form of becoming.

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Admit Everyone
University of Waterloo Art Gallery
East Campus Hall, Room 1239
519.888.4567 ext. 33575
Website<https://uwag.uwaterloo.ca/>
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/uwag.waterloo>
Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/uwartgallery>



Contact
Ivan Jurakic, Director/Curator
ijurakic at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:ijurakic at uwaterloo.ca>



Hours
Wednesday to Saturday 12 – 5pm
Or by appointment



Mobility
Ground floor entry
Automated doors available at west entrance to Fine Arts (ECH)
Wide pathways
Accessible washrooms on ground level



Driving
263 Phillip Street, Waterloo
East Campus Hall (ECH) is located adjacent to Engineering 6 (E6)
Campus map<https://uwaterloo.ca/map/>



Parking
Limited Visitor Parking available in B-Lot (E6), $7.25 Flat Rate

Visitor Parking also available in Q-Lot (EC1), $10.00 Flat Rate
Pay via AMP mobile app
Search “AMP Park” in app store or scan QR code on parking signs
Campus map<https://uwaterloo.ca/map/>



Mailing
University of Waterloo Art Gallery
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1


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Image credits and descriptions: 1) James Malzahn, The Victory Box User Manual, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist. Description: An aged, Cold War-era user manual rests on a wooden surface, featuring an illustration of the Victory Box flanked by a smiling family gathered in a mid-century decor living room. 2) Elise Popa, Build 02 (detail), 2026, colour photograph. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Paige Smith. Description: A portrait of the artist standing in the middle of an unfinished ice rink on a farm field, wearing a black parka and splash pants while holding a long-handled mallet.


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