Contemporary printmaking from Indonesia and Australia

Collaboration & touring exhibition
A Krack! Studio exhibition in partnership with 16albermarle Project Space

At the night market, you can buy fake Rolex watches, fried grasshoppers and amulets with “magical” powers. Skinny guys with tattoos operate carnival rides that aren’t safe. There’s a haunted house and a giant python. Gangsters, pickpockets and revolutionaries lurk in the shadows.  

The morning market is for groceries and gossip, but the night market is the world reversed; where our repressed fears and desires are set loose. Many of the works in this exhibition reference mysticism, mythology and ritual; conjuring the dark glamor of “otherness”. For some it’s about revealing stories that have been hidden from the national narrative; for some it’s about pursuing what they believe is right in a world that believes otherwise; for others it means charting the dark terrain of our inner, psychological worlds. 

Every community has a Night Market; a shadow place of buried secrets and illicit pleasures. Pasar Malam is an exhibition of large-format screenprinted works, each 200 x 150 cm, created by Krack Print Studio, Yogyakarta, in collaboration with leading Indonesian and Australian artists. The curators are Krack founding co-partners Malcolm Smith and Sukma Smita, working with the Krack team.

In keeping with the slightly seedy, mysterious and precarious night markets of Java, the exhibition is designed as an immersive and engaging experience. Visitors will navigate a crowded and colourful space, in which our 15 artists bring to life the chaos and permissiveness of the Night Market. The entrance will be guarded by a “loket” (a ticket booth), and coloured lights and strings of flags will lure visitors into the darkness. A specially commissioned soundtrack will animate the clatter of carnival rides, shrieking crowds and spruikers, underscored by contemporary Indonesian experimental music.

Artists: Alfin Agnuba, Amina McConvell, Enka Komariah, Ida Lawrence, Ipeh Nur, Jumaadi, Leyla Stevens, Malcolm Le Smith, Prihatmoko Moki, Restu Ratnaningtyas, Rizki Maulana, Rudi Hermawan, Tamarra, Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, Tobias Richardson.

Catalogue

It had come to her attention
that she could speak the language
almost as well
as a very, VERY clever
small child.

“Pintar sekali ngomong Bahasa Indonesia.”
“Sudah lama tinggal di sini?”
“Bahasa Indonesiannya sangat lancar.”

Exhibition tour dates:

• Pendhapa Artspace, Jogjakarta ID
Exhibition opening: Wednesday 14 May, 17:00
14 – 28 May 2025

• Semarang Contemporary Art Gallery, Semarang ID
Exhibition opening: Saturday 19 July 2025, 19:00
19 July – 17 August 2025

• Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin AU
12 February – 11 April 2026
+ public programs

• Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle AU
9 May – 02 August 2026
Opening: Friday 8 May, 6pm-9pm
Artist talks: Saturday 9 May, 1pm-3pm
+ other public programs

• Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, Bunbury AU
8 August – 25 October 2026

• Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland AU
5 February – 13 April 2027

• NorthSite Contemporary Arts, Cairns AU
15 May – 24 July 2027

• Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Gymea AU
31 October 2027 – 2 January 2028     

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Credits:

Krack!
Printmakers Rudi Hermawan, Alfin Agnuba, Malcolm Smith
Production management Malcolm Smith and Sukma Smita
Budget and finance Sukma Smita and Putri Okta
Image research Khoiril Maqin and Febrian A. Hasibuan
Video editor Muhammad Dzulqarnain
Translation Khoiril Maqin
Pasar Malam documentation Salius
Exhibition documentation Fajar Riyanto
Project assistants Hilmi Qobus dan Tanjung Daud S.

16albermarle
Tour management John Cruthers
Gallery manager Rosario Aguirre Mitrovic
Artist liaison and translation Ellya Gunawan
Graphic design Weiru Hsien and Tommy Carman
Publicity and media liaison Sky Zhou
Educational materials Lauren Barlow

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