Trenton Doyle Hancock b. 1974

The exhibition also includes Chapter 2 of Hancock’s impressive graphic novel that will ultimately exist as a four-volume book consisting of nearly 1000 original drawings. This chapter, titled Veganism, is a follow up to Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse, Chapter 1: What is a Mound?, which debuted in his 2018 exhibition at the gallery, and introduced the seminal character of the Mound. Rendered in pen and ink on paper, the artist has brought to life a linear story of the Vegans, portraying a fraught relationship between Hancock, Torpedo Boy, Vegans, and the police. The conflict between these various characters serves as a metaphor for extremism and idealism, power and transformation, and the evolving structures of white supremacy within America. Exhibited in a large grid, Hancock takes viewers on a sequential journey through this absurdist world, one drawing at a time, culminating in a deeper understanding of the relationships between the artist’s own life and the fictional worlds that he builds.