Natasha Tontey's Phantom Combatants Reimagines Indonesian History at Ateneo Veneto

Natasha Tontey's installation 'The Phantom Combatants' at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice reimagines the story of Len Karamoy, a woman fighter in the CIA-funded Permesta resistance movement in North Sulawesi (1957-1961). The 22-minute film, commissioned by LAS Art Foundation (Berlin) and Amos Rex (Helsinki), is part of Tontey's 'Macho Mystic Meltdown' series. It uses infrared and hyperspectral imaging, B-movie aesthetics, and Indigenous Minahasan beliefs to explore autonomy, resistance, and the invisibility of women in military history. Visitors ascend a ramp to view Jacopo Palma il Giovane's 17th-century 'Cycle of Purgatory' bathed in red light before encountering the film's absurdly muscular mutant warriors. Tontey, a Minahasan artist, re-centers Karamoy's perspective, who was overshadowed by her husband Jan Timbuleng. The work critiques hyper-masculine ideals and draws on video games, Indonesian soap operas, and Monty Python. Amos Rex director Kieran Long and LAS CEO Bettina Kames praised the hybrid, multidisciplinary approach.