Malcolm Smith
Malcom Smith
Nothing is forever: 02 Many Hands 2020
screenprint on cotton Fabriano paper, 4/10, 66 x 50 cm
Malcom Smith
Artist Bio
Malcolm Smith is an Australian artist who has been based in Yogyakarta for the past decade. He is one of the co-founders of Krack!, an artist-run printmaking studio and gallery in Yogyakarta, that works collaboratively with artists to produce and exhibit print-based works that are visually innovative and respond critically to events, developments and cultural debates in the Asia Pacific region. Since 2013 KRACK! has exhibited works in Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, China and Italy, delivered workshops with local and international artists, and collaborated with senior as well as early stage artists.
Nothing Is Forever
This series of images is inspired by Giovani Boccaccio’s novel Decameron, a compilation of tales written in Italy during the Black Death plague in 1348. Like its namesake, there is nothing redemptive or hopeful in my version of the Decameron. These images provoke our fears of an invisible Other, exploit our insecurities about our bodies and expose the fragility of both faith and science.
I started working on these images in January 2020. Initially there was no theme or plan, I just started working with images that popped into my head. As they evolved over the next few months, I was surprised firstly by how dark they were, and then later by how well they articulated my mood as Coronavirus crept closer.
Screen-printing is a multifaceted process. Images need to be created, colour separations prepared, screens made and then finally the works are printed. This process was interrupted when I unexpectedly had to come to Sydney in March due to coronavirus. After I had finished the images and prepared the separations, Rudi Hermawan from Krack agreed to screenprint the works for me while I watched on via the internet from Sydney. The crew at Krack then sent some of the works off to Artjog in Jogja and posted me the remaining works for my show at Newsagency in Sydney. Thanks also to Keppet, Reka and Eki for their assistance.
More information
ig: malcolmlesmith
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