HOPLA Presents: Raymour vs. Flanigan A Speculative Anthropological Exhibition Staged for One Night Only

HOPLA, the artistic collaboration founded by Bilal Amjad and Max E. Barnes Herrlander, is pleased to announce Raymour vs. Flanigan, a site-specific, one-night exhibition. The event will take place on February 6, 2026, from 6:00 PM to Midnight at TJ Byrnes in Lower Manhattan.

Exhibition Concept
Staged inside a working restaurant, Raymour vs. Flanigan presents handmade rugs and photographs as if they were artifacts recovered from a "recently vanished civilization". Framed as a speculative anthropological study, the project reimagines early 20th-century Western consumer culture through domestic objects and environments of comfort.
By bypassing traditional gallery contexts in favor of TJ Byrnes, the exhibition uses the restaurant’s existing atmosphere and cultural memory as active participants in the work. The site-specific installation collapses the boundary between everyday life and formal exhibition, questioning what remains when a civilization's branding and material language outlive their original moment.

Featured Works
The exhibition showcases diverse material labor and cultural experimentation, including:

Hand-Knotted Wool Carpets (Bilal Amjad): 

Khusrow Discovers Pamela Bathing: Hand-knotted wool carpet, 36x60.
 

Shahriar & The White Tiger: Hand-knotted wool carpet, 36x60.
  

Ronald the Great (The Conqueror of Markets): Hand-knotted wool carpet, 36" x 36".
 

Lewinsky Majnun: Hand-knotted wool carpet, 36x60.
 

Photographic Studies (Max E. Barnes Herrlander):

Settler: Photograph on paper, 43x64.5

Elders: Photograph on paper, 24x36

Nature Study: Photograph on paper, 43x64.5.
  

Wife: Photograph on paper, 17x25.4.
 

Event Summary
What: Raymour vs. Flanigan, a one-night artist-run exhibition.
When: February 6, 2026 | 6:00 PM – Midnight.
Where: TJ Byrnes, 77 Fulton Street, Lower Manhattan, New York.
Admission: Open to the public.

About HOPLA
HOPLA is a collaboration between Bilal Amjad (New Jersey, USA) and Max E. Barnes Herrlander (Malmö, Sweden). Working across visual art, design, film, and fashion, the duo operates as a flexible framework for cultural experimentation. Their practice examines how labor, taste, and cultural memory are embedded in everyday objects. Notable past projects include screenings at Fotografiska in Stockholm and exhibitions at the C. G. Jung House Museum and O’Flaherty Gallery.

Selected Exhibition History
2026: Raymour vs. Flanigan’s Optimism, TJ Byrnes.
2025: Trops Yalda, Trops Foundation.
2025: The Carl G. Jung Adventure Series, C. G. Jung House Museum.
2023: HOPLA Jeans, Apparel collection and fashion presentation.
2022: Come Inside, Solo exhibition, HOPLA Gallery.
2019: WILLPOWER, Docudrama premiered at Fotografiska, Stockholm.
2009: Mexicali, Mexico, Docudrama screened at Film Maudit 2.0 (2021) and Antimatter Film Festival (2011).