Talk

Afterlives of Violence in Indonesia

Vincent Bevins and Soe Tjen Marching in Conversation

Taring Padi, *Mereka Yang Bertanggung Jawab*, 1997-1998. Installation view, Ibraaz 2026. Photo: Ollie Hammick

Date and Time:: Thursday 3 Sep, 6–7:30pm
Location:: Majlis

Taking place in the context of Taring Padi's exhibition Rakyat Pasti Menang, this conversation brings together journalist Vincent Bevins and academic and writer Soe Tjen Marching to discuss three defining moments in Indonesian political and cultural history: 1965, 1998, and the present day.

Bevins is the author of The Jakarta Method, an account of the 1965 mass killings and their role in the Cold War's global anti-communist purges, while Marching's book The End of Silence examines the 1965 genocide through survivor testimony. Their discussion situates Taring Padi's work within this longer history of violence in Indonesia.

Doors open at 5.30pm; event starts at 6pm and ends at 7.30pm.

Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist. He covered Southeast Asia for the Washington Post and served as Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He previously worked for the Financial Times and now contributes to outlets like The New York Times Magazine and the London Review of Books. Vincent’s first book, The Jakarta Method, was published in 2020 to critical acclaim. His works have been translated into fifteen languages. His second book, If We Burn,was published in 2023.

Soe Tjen Marching is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultures at SOAS University of London. She is also a creative writer and an award-winning composer. She has published several novels and short stories in both English and Indonesian. Her latest academic book, The End of Silence: Accounts of the 1965 Genocide in Indonesia, was published by Amsterdam University Press. As a composer, she won a national competition for Indonesian contemporary composers organised by the German Embassy in 1998.

- Exhibition
Rakyat Pasti Menang
Taring Padi
8 Jul – 22 Nov 2026

Afterlives of Violence in Indonesia

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Rakyat Pasti Menang