Now You Don’t!
Hye-Shin Chun, Rory Hamovit, Jacob Lenc, Kai Sugiyama
August 1–September 7, 2025

Five Churches in a Strip Mall on Pasadena Avenue is pleased to present Now You Don’t!, an exhibiton of works by Hye-Shin Chun, Rory Hamovit, Jacob Lenc, and Kai Sugiyama.

In Edge City, insecure bank teller Stanley Ipkiss is frequently ridiculed by everyone except for his co-worker and best friend, Charlie Schumaker. Meanwhile, gangster Dorian Tyrell, whose boss Niko owns the Coco Bongo nightclub, plots to overthrow Niko. One day, Tyrell sends his dazzling singer-girlfriend, Tina Carlyle, into the bank to record its layout for an upcoming robbery. Stanley is attracted to Tina, and she seemingly reciprocates.

After being turned away from Coco Bongo where Tina is performing, Stanley’s unreliable loaner car breaks down on his way home, stranding him on the harbor bridge—there, while trying to rescue what he thinks is a person in the water, he instead discovers a wooden mask hidden beneath a pile of garbage. Upon returning to his apartment and donning the mask, he transforms into a green-faced trickster known as “The Mask”, who can cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. With newfound confidence, Stanley indulges in a comical rampage through the city, humiliating several of his tormentors, including his temperamental landlady, Agnes Peenman, and the mechanics who gave him the faulty car. Meanwhile, Niko learns of Tyrell’s plans and warns him to leave Edge City in one week or be killed.

The following day, Stanley encounters Detective Lieutenant Mitch Kellaway and newspaper reporter Peggy Brandt, who are investigating the Mask’s activity. To obtain the funds necessary to attend Tina’s performance, Stanley dons the mask and raids the bank, inadvertently foiling Tyrell’s robbery. At the Coco Bongo, Stanley dances exuberantly with Tina, whom he kisses. Tyrell soon confronts him for disrupting the theft, and Stanley flees, leaving behind a scrap of cloth from his suit, which reverts into a piece of his pajamas. After arresting Tyrell and his henchman, Kellaway finds the piece of fabric and suspects Stanley’s involvement.

Later, Stanley consults psychiatrist Arthur Neuman, who recently published a book called The Masks We Wear; he deduces that the mask may be a creation of Loki and its powers are only active at night. Neuman believes it is mythology, but he concludes that the Mask’s personality is based on Stanley’s repressed desires. That night, Stanley meets Tina at a local park as the Mask until they are interrupted by Kellaway, who attempts to capture him. Stanley flees with Peggy after he distracts the police with a mass performance of the titular song from Cuban Pete; Peggy then reluctantly betrays him to Tyrell for a $50,000 bounty. After Tyrell becomes a bulky and malevolent being when he dons the mask, he has his henchmen force Stanley to reveal the location of the stolen money before turning him in to the police along with a green rubber mask.

When Tina visits Stanley at the station, he urges her to leave the city, but not before she thanks Stanley for showing her kindness and telling him that the mask was unnecessary. She attempts to flee, but Tyrell kidnaps and prepares her for the charity ball at the Coco Bongo, hosted by Niko and attended by the city’s elite, including the mayor. Upon arrival, the masked Tyrell murders Niko and prepares to destroy the club with a time bomb. Stanley’s dog, Milo, helps his owner escape from his cell by retrieving the keys from the guard. Stanley sets out to stop Tyrell and takes Kellaway hostage to escape the police station.

After locking Kellaway in his car, Stanley enters the club and enlists Charlie’s help, but he is quickly discovered and captured. Tina tricks Tyrell into removing the mask, which is recovered and donned by Milo, who battles through Tyrell’s henchmen as he and Stanley fight each other. Stanley retrieves the mask, uses its powers to dispose of the bomb seconds before it detonates and defeat Tyrell by sending him down the drain of the club’s ornamental fountain; the police arrive and arrest Tyrell’s henchmen. Kellaway tries arresting Stanley again, but the mayor intervenes, implicating Tyrell as the Mask and praising Stanley as a hero.

The following day, Stanley, falsely exonerated and more secure, returns to the harbor bridge with Tina, Charlie and Milo. Tina discards the mask before she and Stanley kiss. Charlie tries to retrieve the mask, only for Milo to swim away with it.

Hye-Shin Chun (b.1983 in Libreville, Gabon) lives and works in Los Angeles. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been shown at Helen J Gallery, Los Angeles; smoke the moon, Santa Fe; and Ivory Gate Gallery, Shanghai.

Rory Hamovit (b. 1991, Augusta, ME) is an artist based in Los Angeles. He received his MFA in photography from Yale and has had his work featured in Wallpaper Magazine, British Journal of Photography, Der Grief amongst others. His most most recent show, Parallel Play, was installed at PhotoAccess in Canberra, Australia.

Jacob Lenc is an artist based in Los Angeles. In 2021 he cofounded the project space The Hermitage with Paloma Dooley and his wife Billy Frolov. His last name is pronounced /lɛn(t)s/ but is spelled differently.

Kai Sugiyama (b. 1992, Tokyo) lives and works in Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited at Arcane space, Los Angeles, Stone Age DIY gallery, Los Angeles, Gallery THIRTYSIX, Los Angeles, and Curved Wall Gallery, Los Angeles.