In Misery Loves Company, a two-man exhibition, visual artists RaiseHell and Wham explore the symbiotic relationship that exists between individuals in the process of living and creation. Coming from a place of exhaustion, the series of paintings depict images that express their own existential angst— a result of long creative struggle and search for hopeful circumstances out of the seeming cyclic experience of suffering and misery.

There’s resistance in the way both artists view misery as a state of distress. Here, misery serves as a conceptual thought that contrastingly propels them to form a deeper and personal connection with themselves and other people. The illustrative compositions in RaiseHell’s imagery are founded in her early practice as a graphic designer for posters and album covers, further evolving to pulp and pop expressions. WHAM’s images–vibrant with elaborative features– demonstrate his background in being a tattoo artist. Together, they construct their subjects to expose the paradoxes of everyday life and to find solace in collective misery.

The exhibit proposes the possibility of self-transformation through compassion and introspection as both artists reimagine emotions of discomfort through the lens of optimism and resilience.

“We journey towards profound personal growth, navigating the path of self-discovery.”

— Text by James Luigi Tana