Joey Kwan was eating a few chocolate candies when a thought occurred to her.
What if, mused the promotions manager at Aberdeen Centre, someone could construct an Egyptian exhibition made entirely out of chocolate candies?
That idea spawned giant reproductions of The Great Pyramid and The Sphinx of Giza made completely out of M&M chocolate candies, which will be on display at Aberdeen Centre beginning July 29.
"Last year, I started to think about M&M candies and how fun it would be to have an educational exhibit made out of them," Kwan said.
So, the mother of a 12year-old girl went online to see if she could find an artist who could create what she had imagined.
"I did a lot of research and then found an artist in Hong Kong who I thought would be perfect for the job," she said.
For about a year, Kwan carried on email and phone call discussions with Hong Kong-based multimedia and toy designer, Dio Wong.
"Dio had done similar exhibits, but on a much smaller scale, but after our talks back and forth he agreed to it," she said, adding he created the torch relay bear mascot for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics as well as a chocolate scene to promote the film Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (2009.) "In fact, Dio has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records because these chocolate sculptures just might be the tallest and largest ones made out of M&M candies."
The central atrium at Aberdeen will be transformed into ancient Egypt, where shoppers can come and explore the world of the Boy King Tutakhamun and his treasure trove.
Visitors will enter the mammoth display through two guardian statues and enter into a reproduction of Tutankhamun's burial chamber. According to Kwan it is resplendent with its hieroglyphic ritual images, murals depicting the King and Gods, as well as his second coffin and the famed gold funerary mask.
It was also important for Kwan to have the new exhibition interactive and educational.
There will be a team of local post-secondary aspiring art students who will work alongside Wong for a month to create massive, coloured sculptures.
"They will be building showpieces which will rise up 10 feet and 13 feet wide," said Kwan.
Throughout the summer months, there will be a number of special events tied to the exhibition. There will be weekly Egyptianthemed musical and dance acts. As well, Kwan said visitors might see "a living King Tut statue dancing around the mall."
Perhaps most impressive is the collection of more than 20 museum replicas of the most notable items of King Tut's riches, on loan from Royal Exhibitions, a historical replicating company based in Ontario.
"I was talking to the curator at the Royal Exhibitions and he told me he had a collection of replicas, including King Tut's tomb, the golden throne from the antechamber, an iron dagger from the Annexe as well as a life-sized statue of the king himself," said Kwan.
"There's a lot of interesting stuff and he told me we could borrow them for our exhibit.
DID YOU KNOW?
A Little history about Boy King Tutankhamun
Known as the Boy King, Tutankhamun ruled Egypt from the age of nine until he died around the age of 18 or 19. He reigned from 1333-23 BC.
In 1922, his nearly intact tomb was discovered by British explorer Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt.
Buried with the king was a treasure trove of riches and artifacts.
To this day, major studies have been conducted into how he died, with speculations running from an infected leg, to being assassinated to having malaria.
Source: Aberdeen Centre
"They will be in plexus-glass display cases so people can see them up close."
Meanwhile, the atrium's water fountain will move to the rhythm of Walk Like an Egyptian, added Kwan.
"The dancing water fountain will follow to the beats of the song," she said.
All Hail The Boy King! Tutankhamun comes to Aberdeen Centre until Sept. 5 in the central atrium.
When the News asked Kwan if her daughter is excited about the upcoming exposition, she laughed and said: "My daughter is much more interested in the chocolate reproductions and even asked if she could eat some of them."
For more information about the exhibit as well as show times for various events, visit www.aberdeencentre.com.
