UNSPOKEN CODES


Presented by Common Names

October 18–31, 2025

Art Share L.A.
801 E 4th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90013




Unspoken Codes is the debut exhibition from Common Names, a youth-led initiative centered on collective authorship, emotional connection, and participatory art. Initiated and curated by Cici Zhu, the exhibition explores how individual gestures—across age, background, and language—can come together to form a shared visual archive of presence, reflection, and care. At its heart is a large-scale installation of over 2,500 hand-painted hexagonal tiles, each contributed by individuals from around the world. These small works, intimate in scale but expansive in emotion, invite viewers to encounter the quiet power of expression beyond words. A gallery presentation of works by ten invited artists—Crystal Jean Baranyk, Wen-you Cai, Bryan Cruz, Lopamudra Goyal, Cindy Leung, WonderBuhle Mbambo, Rachele Moscatelli, Lerato Nkosi, Danny Romeril, and Kiko Thomas—offers personal responses to the exhibition’s central questions: How do we share authorship? How do we hold space for others? How does visibility shift when expression is shared, not owned?



A special highlight of Unspoken Codes is a dedicated room honoring the collaboration with Saint Mark’s School, an elementary school that lost nearly its entire campus—including nine buildings—in the Eaton Fire earlier this year. Despite this profound disruption, 170 students contributed hexagon tiles to the project. Their works, arranged by Cici into a large-scale formation of the school’s lion emblem, form a powerful tribute to collective resilience, community, and rebuilding through creative expression. To extend this spirit of participation, the exhibition also features a workshop room designed for visitor engagement. Audience members are invited to create their own hexagon tiles and place them on a specially designed hexagon wall. This evolving space keeps the project alive and open, offering a living archive where new voices continue to join and resonate with those already present.


Held at Art Share L.A.—a venue deeply rooted in community access and artistic exchange—Unspoken Codes affirms a belief that art is not reserved for institutions or spectacle but is a shared language capable of bridging distance and holding emotion. The exhibition is open to the public through October 31, 2025. Admission is free. Schools, educators, and community groups are warmly encouraged to reach out for scheduling.







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