Audemars Piguet Contemporary and Museum Macan to unveil installation featuring Indonesian artist’s work on ‘manufactured fear’
Audemars Piguet Contemporary and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum Macan) are set to unveil a thought-provoking installation by Indonesian artist Natasha Tontey, titled "Primate Visions: Macaque Macabre". This immersive exhibition, running from November 16 to April 6, 2025, marks Tontey's first institutional solo show and promises to challenge our understanding of the complex relationship between humans and nature.
Tontey's installation delves into the cultural significance of macaque monkeys among the indigenous communities of the South Minahasa region, where she hails from. Specifically, she examines the relationship between humans and the black-crested macaque, an endangered species known for invading villages and stealing crops. This intricate dynamic serves as a metaphor for global conflicting perspectives, highlighting the manufactured nature of fear and its construction through histories and myths.
Tontey's installation will recreate the imagery and aesthetics of video games, music videos, and fantasy fiction, blending them with folkloric and mystical aspects of indigenous culture. This unique fusion will evoke themes of ecofeminism, primatology, and technology through the lens of speculative fiction. As the artist describes, "Primate Visions: Macaque Macabre" is a "playful and macabre world filled with radical oddities".
Since 2012, Audemars Piguet Contemporary has commissioned artists to create innovative artworks presented at major venues worldwide. Denis Pernet, curator of Audemars Piguet Contemporary, notes that Tontey's installation "asks us humans to reconsider our relationship to living creatures and the environment". Pernet is working closely with Tontey and Venus Lau, Director of Museum Macan, to bring this immersive installation to life.
"Primate Visions: Macaque Macabre" promises to be a thought-provoking and visually stunning installation that challenges our understanding of the human-nature dynamic. By exploring the cultural significance of macaque monkeys and the manufactured nature of fear, Tontey's work invites us to reexamine our relationship with the environment and living creatures.
