Malcolm Le Smith

Malcolm Le Smith’s work is a humorous recreation of Siksa Neraka (The Torments of Hell). These images describe the punishments people will receive in hell for their misdeeds on earth. Torments of Hell stories can be traced back to old Confucianist, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian texts, and various representations of them are found throughout southeast Asia. In Singapore and in Thailand there are theme parks that portray the Torments of Hell. In Indonesia, Siksa Neraka comics were given to kids to scare them into obedience.

Malcolm Le Smith is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses printmaking, electronics, cross-cultural collaboration and queer theory. Originally from Australia, he has mostly lived and worked
in Yogyakarta, Indonesia since 2010, where he was one of the founding members of the screenprinting collective Krack! Recent projects include Kelas Menengah (Middle Class) with Krack Studio (2023);
ArtJog 2020: Resilience (2020); Nothing is Forever, Newsagency Gallery (2020); Indonesia Calling 2020, 16albermarle Project Space (2020); Plague of Rats, Glogau AIR, Berlin (2019); ArtJog 2018: Enlightenment (2018); Out of Joint, Dia.Lo.Gue Artspace, Jakarta (2016).