Earned? Trust? You?? Aight.

In Earned? Trust? You?? Aight. Kevin Hopkins and Cole Vacek collaborate to explore the nuances of memory’s degradation, the celebration of nostalgia, and the vulnerability of trust through painting, sculpture, and installation.

In Kevin's work, he reflects on a childhood concept he and his brothers called Dreaming—a shared moment when they would choose characters from their favorite shows, particularly Shonen anime, blend those personas with their own, and play-fight within the imagined worlds they collectively built and negotiated in a shared daydream. Through this recollection of childhood imagination, Hopkins also examines the eventual demise of the Dreaming practice as he and his siblings grappled with the expectations of masculinity and responsibility imposed on them within the context of a Lowcountry Black experience.

Cole's work delves into the processes of remembering, recalling, retaining, and clutching at memories, even as we inevitably lose the complete pages of our once-vivid stories. He suggests, however, that the unintentional loss of memory doesn't signify its total absence. Instead, memories become fragmented—charred, altered monuments we cling to—still capable of participating in acts of exchange.

Together, Kevin and Cole present vulnerable moments for viewers to contemplate, offering artifacts and dreams to explore and a catalyst for personal recollection. They ask themselves: What is worth preserving? What are the rules? How do I grow up? How do I stay young? How do I fulfill myself? How do I survive? And how do I help you do the same?