The allegorical pact with the Devil, Mephistopheles, is a kind of capitulation in the acceptance of death, as a means towards achieving something more powerful. Death comes with a haloed skull, imbued with its sense of twisted beauty, the beginning of the end. The artist, Agus Suwage, who insinuates himself in the painted mock theatrical dramas he concocted, resorts to this overt self-abnegation and submission, but the ending is still inconclusive. Death may be a morbid subject, even for one who was 51 when Agus painted it, but the juxtaposition of a skeletal remain and one all flesh-and-blood presents unlimited possibilities. Agus is also known for his gold skeletal sculpture, Luxury Crime (2009). Agus Suwage, the former Oei Hok Sioe, is a provocative Post-Suharto contemporary artist, having been represented by key Southeast Asian galleries like Silverlens, Cemeti Gallery, Mizuma Gallery, Arndt and Yavuz. Among his major selections are in the 2nd Asia-Pacific Triennial (1996), the 6th Havana Biennale (1997), the Kwangju Biennale (2000), the Singapore Biennale (2006), and the landmark Sunshower exhibition at the Mori Art Musuem in Tokyo, Japan (2017). In 2009, on the occasion of him turning 50, he was given a Retrospective called Still Crazy After All These Years at the Jogja National Museum. He graduated in Graphic Design from the Bandung Institute of Technology. In 2022, his exhibition titled Agus Suwage: The Theater Of Me, was held at Museum Macan.