Natasha Tontey's Digital Animations Queer Minahasan Myths with Posthuman Vision

Natasha Tontey, an artist from Indonesia, produces digital animations, performances, and installations that reinterpret animistic beliefs as posthuman responses to the country's human-centered modernity. Drawing inspiration from her Minahasan background, her creations showcase hybrid beings and gender-fluid representations of Minahasan legends. Her 2021 films, The Epoch of Mapalucene and Wa'anak Witu Watu, merge documentary elements with original animations, featuring a female warrior clad in a red ceremonial outfit. In her 2022 work, Garden Amidst the Flame, Minahasan teenage girls delve into their heritage, presenting a deity that is part woman, part fish. Based in Yogyakarta, Tontey’s innovative style employs 3D animation and visual collage, and she participated in the Singapore Biennale 2022 and was chosen for Future Greats 2023.