“At Least We're Damned Together” by Joel Hernandez is a new collection of paper-mache sculptures and masks made over the past year, a period in which Hernandez, like many of us, navigated waves of grief, anger, joy, and disbelief in quick succession. The exhibition's title is both revelation and acceptance of the status quo. When finding yourself in the worst case scenario, knowing that you're not alone provides space for stronger emotional kinship, a refusal to be crushed by the weight of it all, and an insistence that the only way through is together.

The work doesn't promise resolution. What it offers instead is company, a room full of figures in the midst of those feelings and the relief that comes from finding strength in that collective experience.

Hernandez has spent more than a decade building a visual language around the mask, not as concealment but as revelation. His handcrafted figures, created with one piece of paper at a time, draw on the iconography of Mexican folk art while addressing the specific weight of being a Gay Mexican-American Immigrant during this time in America. 

“At Least We’re Damned Together” opens June 6 from 6-9 pm at Moth Belly Gallery, 912 Larkin Street, SF CA, and runs through July 25, 2026.