EXISTENCILISM by Justin Ferland

This exhibition features works depicting stories of people who’s existence has been questioned, challenged, and preserved. Many works are spray paint via stencil, a tool for mass producing images or stories that signify the universality of these subjects. Simple yet powerful, stencils can produce messages, stories, and images on a large scale. If you feel your story is insignificant, stencils can be a brilliant tool for self-expression. This show is not just about injustice. It’s about presence. It’s about honoring people who have been asked, explicitly or implicitly, “Do you belong?” “Do you exist?” Through spray paint and hand-cut stencils, the medium itself mirrors the tension of these narratives: bold and immediate, yet layered and precise. The rawness of aerosol, often associated with protest and street culture, is intentional. It speaks to urgency. It defies erasure. And it pushes back against the systems and assumptions that seek to silence. View each piece with full attention, thinking only of the story, history, and its connection to your personal time and space. Can you do more to better your community or relieve yourself of hardship? Immerse yourself in these images and stories; they are not alone with you & you are not alone with them.