New Pessimism
Screening20 February 2025
Turin
h. 19:00 at
At Almanac, Via Reggio 13, Turin
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Full Program
Garden Amidst the Flame (2022) by Natasha Tontey
Of Other Tomorrows Never Known (2023) by Natasha Tontey
Tellurian Drama (2020) by Riar Rizaldi
Fossilis (2023) by Riar Rizaldi
Total running time: 83 min
New Pessimism is the name of a studio founded in 2018 by artists Natasha Tontey and Riar Rizaldi. Over the past ten years, these two artists have explored and investigated the notions of horror, terror, and “bad taste” in popular culture through a series of moving-image practices. Their interest in observing and dissecting social, technological, and ecological issues is rooted in Indonesia’s landscape and social dynamics. The studio produces works that embody a deviant, experimental aesthetic, while remaining aware of the planet’s ecological state.
Growing up on campy horror cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, science fiction pulp literature, ghost stories, the underground scene, Indonesian soap operas, and engaging in radical politics and indigenous movements, Natasha and Riar transform the codes of B-grade media and popular culture to create fictional narratives in which ecological and social issues are dissected in an abstract and occasionally “bad taste” manner. Recently, they have referred to their work as a “new style of pessimism,” a term reflecting both their artistic practice and their pessimistic stance on social and ecological conditions in Indonesia—and beyond.
In this screening, New Pessimism presents four works, all examining the relationship between humans, technology, and the land beneath their feet. Two of these films, Garden Amidst the Flame and Other Tomorrows Never Known by Natasha Tontey, centre on the dynamics of the Minahasa indigenous community in North Sulawesi, Indonesia—Natasha’s place of origin. These works explore how the community perceives technology and ritual, portrayed through a campy, maximalist visual style. The other two films, Tellurian Drama and Fossilis by Riar Rizaldi, focus on land, colonialism, the future, and technology (both ancient and futuristic). Collectively, these four works illustrate a vibrant, intricate, and dramatic interplay between landscape and humanity.
Garden Amidst the Flame (2022) by Natasha Tontey
Of Other Tomorrows Never Known (2023) by Natasha Tontey
Tellurian Drama (2020) by Riar Rizaldi
Fossilis (2023) by Riar Rizaldi
Total running time: 83 min
New Pessimism is the name of a studio founded in 2018 by artists Natasha Tontey and Riar Rizaldi. Over the past ten years, these two artists have explored and investigated the notions of horror, terror, and “bad taste” in popular culture through a series of moving-image practices. Their interest in observing and dissecting social, technological, and ecological issues is rooted in Indonesia’s landscape and social dynamics. The studio produces works that embody a deviant, experimental aesthetic, while remaining aware of the planet’s ecological state.
Growing up on campy horror cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, science fiction pulp literature, ghost stories, the underground scene, Indonesian soap operas, and engaging in radical politics and indigenous movements, Natasha and Riar transform the codes of B-grade media and popular culture to create fictional narratives in which ecological and social issues are dissected in an abstract and occasionally “bad taste” manner. Recently, they have referred to their work as a “new style of pessimism,” a term reflecting both their artistic practice and their pessimistic stance on social and ecological conditions in Indonesia—and beyond.
In this screening, New Pessimism presents four works, all examining the relationship between humans, technology, and the land beneath their feet. Two of these films, Garden Amidst the Flame and Other Tomorrows Never Known by Natasha Tontey, centre on the dynamics of the Minahasa indigenous community in North Sulawesi, Indonesia—Natasha’s place of origin. These works explore how the community perceives technology and ritual, portrayed through a campy, maximalist visual style. The other two films, Tellurian Drama and Fossilis by Riar Rizaldi, focus on land, colonialism, the future, and technology (both ancient and futuristic). Collectively, these four works illustrate a vibrant, intricate, and dramatic interplay between landscape and humanity.
Still from Of Other Tomorrows Never Known (2023), Natasha Tontey. Photo by Yudha "Fehung" Kusuma Putera
The event is part of Vibrant Natures. On Telluric Cosmologies, a program curated by Guido Santandrea e Marianna Vecellio, organized in partnership between Almanac, Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, and Orti Generali.
Vibrant Natures. On Telluric Cosmologies is supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, and Regione Piemonte.
