Wok The Rock & Lara Thoms (b. 1975, Madiun, Indonesia; and b. 1983 Sydney, Australia) are artists interested in experimentation within collective space and social environments who are collaborating for the first time for 48HR Incident. Wok The Rock lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and held his first solo exhibition in 2003 at Ruang MES 56, a non-profit institution he co-founded in 2002 and is now the director of. Lara Thoms is a Melbourne-based artist creating engaging site-specific art and is an Artistic Associate of Aphids, a contemporary art collective with an interest in performance, social engagement and site specificity.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo is considered a ‘metalhead’ and owns every album by Metallica. In 1993 heavy metal concerts were banned in Java, following a riot at a Metallica concert at Lebuk Bulus stadium in Jakarta.  Many fans considered the concert ticket price too high and set cars and a shopping mall on fire until the stadium was opened to everyone. Their new work, Jakarta Whiplash ’93 (re -revisited) (2015) questions the political views of Indonesian ‘metalheads’ and Metallica fans worldwide through both performance and the creation of a line of contemporary ‘merchandise’. The merch commemorates the ’93 riot, and has a dual purpose of being both a sentimental souvenir and useful in a current riot situation. These items will be available for sale throughout the show as well as through Metallica fan sites and Indonesian music distribution.