Bonnibel Rambatan

A stylised text that reads, "Hey! It's Bonnibel!"
A photo of Bonnibel Rambatan is displayed on the screen of an old dusty pink Apple McIntosh. The computer has strange purple slime, various stickers, and a mysterious bloodstain. A three and a half inch red floppy disk with doodles of a singing bunny sits next to it, in front of a porcelain doll. On the other side, we see a capybara, a full moon, and a single rose.

The Collected Works of Bonnibel Rambatan

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Fiction

Bonni’s range in fiction is eclectic, from children and YA to adult thrillers and speculative fiction. Most of their published works are in graphic novel format.

2025
A comic panel showing girl playing a handheld console in a hotel room. The console shows a retro pixel game of a witch trying to enter a house.

Syncopation (with Aime Marisa)

A formerly stateless dancer reminisces over a friendship breakup.
Young Adult, 20 pages (DELAY Anthology, Difference Engine)
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2020
A comic page showing a man and a woman reminiscing his childhood. The two sit on top of a giant cassette tape floating in space. Panels show his childhood with this sister playing pretend.

Blabber

Tape recordings from the past remind a man of his complicated family relationships.
General Fiction, 20 pages (SOUND Anthology, Difference Engine)
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2020
An illustration of a woman shouting in panic in creepy lighting that makes her skin look grey and her hair dark red.

LARI (lit. “RUN”)

A woman murders her serial-killing husband only to find out she had it all wrong.
Thriller, 70 panels ("31 Ways to Runaway" anthology, LINE Webtoon)
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2018-2020
Teenage detective Sofia smiles knowingly at the camera while three of her friends look concerned behind her as a large masked figure with rainbow hair looms over them.

Sofia: Fashion Investigations (art by Aisah PL)

A fashion design student chases down an ideologically motivated fashion thief.
Young Adult, 80 episodes (LINE Webtoon)
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2017
An illustration of an adult orangutan worriedly carrying a baby orangutan, running away amidst thick lush trees.

Primate Peril (art by Nin Dianda)

A baby orangutan and his friends prevent time-traveling apes from waging war on humanity.
Children, 16 episodes
(CIAYO Comics)
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2016
A comic book page depicting a girl starting to play her guitar in her very messy room.

Not My Hero

A superhero faces persecution after resigning from his team to help a journalist investigate post-1998 disappearances.
Political, 144 pages (discontinued) (Kosmik MOOK)
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2015
A photograph of two small overlapping feet, all in greyscale except for the pink toenails.

Pleasure and Pain

A Medium publication project of short stories and poetry exploring the messy complexities of sex and relationships. Editor & writer.
Short story collection, 16 stories (Medium Publication)
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2012
A photo of a young girl in blonde wig and frilly coquette dress and umbrella upon a pink background. The text "Cosplay: The Series" is on the background in both English and Japanese.

Cosplay dan Kebanggaan Mereka

To save their dying cosplay club, a high school girl must help her friends overcome their family struggles.
Young Adult, 60,000 words (PlotPoint Publishing)
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Non-fiction

Bonni’s non-fiction blends graphic storytelling elements with desk research and expert interviews, informed by pop culture analysis, philosophy, and critical theory. A non-exhaustive list.

2025
A comic panel showing a small girl building a pink Lego castle and another girl putting cute clips on her hair. Behind them stands a paper cutout of a small boy, invisible to everyone.

Oppression, Expression, Liberation

Reflections on my relationship with masculinity as a trans person in Indonesia.
Hybrid memoir, 6 pages ("Masculinities in Asia" dossier)
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2025
A funny-looking round car is chased by three giant robots holding cocktails in the background.

Robots & Intoxicating Matter

New Materialist musings on the festival for cocktail robotics.
Philosophy, 1,300 words ("ROBOEXOTICA: Beautiful Failure" anthology)
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2024
A cartoon character gives a three finger salute, a protest symbol, on top of a collage of digital threats of surveillance and AI-generated skeleton and winged horse.

The Pegasus Threat

A graphic explainer on the Israeli spyware Pegasus. Accompanied by a 4-episode podcast produced by Dania Joedo and Malika.
Journalism, 10 pages + 4 episodes (New Naratif & KBR Indonesia)
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2022
A large text says "Event Horizon" and the authors' names on top of a topological model of a black hole.

Event Horizon (with Jacob Johanssen)

A psychoanalytic interrogation of online culture, politics, and sexuality in contemporary capitalism.
Critical Theory, 55,000 words (Zer0 Books)
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2021
Five gender-nonconforming cartoon characters smile at the camera as the skies behind form shades of nonbinary colours.

We Have Always Been Here (with Reymigius)

A graphic essay on the breadth and complexity of the nonbinary gender experience.
Explainer, 8 pages (New Naratif)
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2018
A retro futuristic news anchor winks at the camera while holding a literal smoking gun off panel.

The Media (script by J. Grenzfurthner)

An animated segment in Johannes Grenzfurthner's film, analysing the role of the media in contemporary society.
Video Essay, 7 minutes (part of "Glossary of Broken Dreams", monochrom)
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2015
A cartoon character calmly steers a photorealistic ship while another cartoon character frantically shoots giant tentacles coming out of the ocean.

Narrative Design

A podcast series interviewing writers, performers, and theorists, with short comic recaps. Produced by CJ Camelia Jonathan.
Journalism, 6 episodes (discontinued) (SoundCloud & Medium Publication)
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2014
A graffiti of a man in white shirt, black suit, and Mexican wrestler mask is painted on an orange brick wall. Text says "Urban Hacking: Cultural Jamming Strategies in the Risky Spaces of Modernity."

Spandrel Evolution

A theoretical essay on finding and fostering emergent spaces of resistance in 21st-century cities.
Critical Theory, 1,650 words ("Urban Hacking" anthology, Transcript Verlag)
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2013
A wind-up wolf howls in front of a tree made of circuitry and a round full moon. The silhouettes are white, the sky is red, and the ground is made of blue glitching artwork by Jung-Hua Liu.

Cyborg Subjects (with J. Johanssen)

A collection of essays on the potentials and threats of digital technology in liberation movements. Writer & co-editor.
Essay collection, 13 essays (Self-published)
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2009 & 2012
Two stick figures, male and female, stand in front of a blue background. Text says "Of Intercourse and Intracourse: Sexuality, Biomodification, and the Techno-social Sphere" and the names of the editors.

Arse Elektronika (contributions)

Two essays on how technology changes the way we see bodies and sexualities.
Philosophy, 7,000 words (Anthologies #2 & #3, RE/Search Publications)
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Artworks

Working primarily with sequential art, Bonnibel strives to push boundaries and try new possibilities in comics, incorporating graphic novel elements in unexpected spaces.

2023
A print of two digital paintings displayed on a white wall.

Liberation & Love is All Around Us

Short graphic memoirs on queer anxieties, friendship, and freedom. Digital painting.
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2018
Panels of comics printed on pillows, depicting a man and a woman worried on a bed. The pillows are increasingly torn with barbed wire as the comic progresses.

Berantas! (lit. “Exterminate!”)

A protest piece against Indonesia's anti-cohabitation bill. Print on pillows, shredded with barbed wire. Mixed media installation.
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2017
Comic panels flow out of a milk carton while flour and eggs lay in the foreground on custom-made packaging. A screen shows a pixelated image of a woman with an apron shouting "Oops!" while spilling her things in the kitchen.

Oops!

On how algorithms shape desires. Package design, animation, and various illustrations. Mixed media installation.
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2017
An art installation featuring a main girl character behind a curtain in the middle, illuminated by lights, surrounded by eight panels of various caricatures by her side and an origami sheep and red pills on a fake grass at her feet.

Gaslight Yourself!

On conspiracy thinking and polarisation. Various illustrations, origami, and LED lights. Mixed media installation.
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2010
A framed digital print of four concept sketches hanging on a light pink wall.

Technosexual Collection

Four experimental fashion concepts interpreting 20th-century philosophies of desire. Concept sketches.
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A stag, a full moon, and a three and a half inch red floppy disk with doodles of a skull and bones on it.
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Website illustrations remix various photos sourced from Unsplash.