PASAR MALAM \ NIGHT MARKET

CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING FROM INDONESIA & AUSTRALIA

A Krack Studio Exhibition, in partnership with 16albermarle Project Space

An exhibition presenting large format screenprints by 15 Indonesian and Australian artists exploring the transgressive allure of the Indonesian night market.

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 definitely 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”. Every community has a Night Market; a shadow place of buried secrets and illicit pleasures.

Pasar Malam (Night Market) is an immersive exhibition of screen printed works exploring the transgressive, shadowy spaces that exist in our communities. Each artwork has been created by Krack Studio in collaboration with leading Indonesian and Australian artists. Pasar Malam will be exhibited in Indonesia in early 2025 and then tour to regional galleries in Australia in 2026-28.

Pasar Malam has been assisted by the Australian Government's Vision of Australia program

Touring Schedule:

12 Feb – 11 Apr 2026 Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin (NT)

8 May – 2 Aug 2026 Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle (WA)

8 Aug – 25 Oct 2026 Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, Bunbury (WA)

5 Feb – 13 Apr 2027 Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland (QLD)

15 May – 24 Jul 2027 NorthSite Contemporary Arts, Cairns (QLD)

31 Oct 2027 – 2 Jan 2028 Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Gymea (NSW)

EDUCATION GOALS & CURRICULUM LINKS

As the exhibition is available online and tours across states, teachers are encouraged to adapt this educational resource to their syllabi. This education kit makes the following connections to the ACARA and IB curriculums:  

Cultural Literacy & Intercultural Understanding

• Introduce students to Indonesian cultural practices, including mysticism, ritual, mythology, and market traditions.

• Foster appreciation for cross-cultural collaboration between Indonesian and Australian artists.

• Encourage critical reflection on orientalism, diasporic identity, and cultural hybridity.

Visual Arts Curriculum Integration

• Explore screenprinting techniques, large-scale installation, and mixed media practices.

• Analyze how artists use symbolism, satire, and narrative to address social, historical, and political themes.

• Explore the role of contemporary curating and exhibitions in transnational connection and understanding

• Link artworks to curriculum outcomes such as:

  • Artmaking and responding

  • Historical and cultural context

  • Personal and social meaning in art

Critical Thinking & Ethical Inquiry

• Engage students in discussions about: o Power and censorship (e.g. “Penembakan Misterius”)

  • Gender and identity (e.g. Tamarra’s work on transgender communities)

  • Environmental and animal ethics (e.g. tiger pelts in “Silencio”)

  • Colonial legacies and memory (e.g. mass graves in “Witness”)

Creative Expression & Making

• Encourage students to: o Create their own screenprint-inspired works

  • Assist in Body of Work production

  • Build models (e.g. “Tong Edan” barrel)

  • Explore digital design to printmaking process

Engagement with Contemporary Art

• Expose students to contemporary Southeast Asian art and its relevance to global conversations.

• Highlight the role of artist collectives like Krack Studio in shaping regional art discourse.

Potential Impacts on Students

• Expanded worldviews: Students gain insight into Southeast Asian cultures beyond tourist or textbook representations.

• Empathy and social awareness: Artworks dealing with trauma, identity, and marginalization foster deeper emotional engagement.

• Inspiration for personal projects: Students may be inspired to explore their own cultural heritage or social concerns through art.

• Connection to real-world art practice: Exposure to collaborative, community-based art production demystifies the art world and shows pathways for future careers.