Ariela Kristantina (in conversation with Dr Natalie J. Swain) – The Goddess Behind the Gorgon: Reclaiming the Colonial Monstrous Woman

The visceral body horror and queer feminist sensibilities of the comic InSEXts were forged from writer Marguerite Bennett’s posttraumatic rage, but its most recognisably Graeco-Roman character did not emerge from its chrysalis until she teamed up with artist Ariela Kristantina. Drawing upon the rich folklore of her home country of Indonesia, Kristantina co-created with Bennett a ‘Medusa’ who is actually no Gorgon at all, but rather a misidentified Javanese goddess
whose statue is expropriated by European colonisers and brought to Paris. In this creator-centred session, Kristantina will discuss her inspiration for InSEXts’ vengeful snake-goddess, how she went about syncretising Indonesian folklore with Greek and Roman mythology and the relationship between Western classics, art and colonialism in the comic. She will also touch on how she incorporates Indonesian elements into her work and her experiences with representing Indonesian culture in an industry that, like the discipline of Classics, still regards Southeast Asia  as a remote, impenetrable other.