The Assembly

Johnny Nawracaj // Neither Flood Nor Fire, or, Both And

 
 

Prominent in this work is imagery of ubiquitous building materials whose production has a heavy impact on the environment- concrete and steel- taking the form of architectural elements evocative of economic inequity from two ends of the spectrum- degrading corrugated roofing panels and a decadent though crumbling neo-classical colonnade. This impossible concrete and steel structure floats in an abstract space comprised of colours and shapes that refer to a flooded plane and the sky in the midst of a forest fire. The wig- a notable queer/femme symbol- is present on this strange scene. Its conflation with this decaying structure invites consideration of structural vulnerability not only in the environmental and architectural space, but also on the social level. Alluding to environmental emergency, class disparity, and questions of belonging asked from the artist's subject position as a queer, nonbinary femme who has worked in construction to sustain themselves and their art practice, this piece is an open metaphor for precarity marking the very bones of the buildings and bodies we inhabit.

 
 
 
 

Johnny Forever Nawracaj is a nonbinary Polish-born scholar, performer and media artist currently based in Tiohtiá:ke (Montréal). Their work combines queer femme tropes with elements from the built enviroment to form fantastical new configurations and metaphors around love, loss, and labour. Nawracaj often works collaboratively with sound artist Gambletron. In their performance, video and sounds series, the duo (miss)uses digital and analogue communications technologies to address issues of place-making and access in queer and diasporic community contexts. They hold a MFA from USC Roski School of Art and Design where they studied as an International Artist Fellow.

If you would like to learn more about Nawracaj’s work, visit their website or follow them on Instagram.