Muhlis Lugis is an artist residing in Makassar, South Sulawesi. After completing his study in the Visual Arts at Makassar State University in 2011, he moved to Yogyakarta to take his Master’s degree at Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta majoring Graphic Arts. Currently, Muhlis is listed as the lecturer in the Department of Visual Arts at Makassar State University. Muhlis began to be recognized in the Indonesian art scene after winning the third place in the Fifth Indonesian Graphic Art Triennale organized by Bentara Budaya Jakarta. In addition, he is also active in various type of exhibitions and art fairs, including LIU&LUGIS Hallway Exhibition, Ludo Gallery, Singapore (2015); Makassar Biennale (2015 and 2017); Young Art Taipei, Taiwan (2016); ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW, Hong Kong (2016); Pekan Seni Grafis Yogyakarta (2017), etc.
In this year’s Biennale Jogja, Muhlis explored the story about To Balo (striped-skin people) residing in a rural area in Barru District, South Sulawesi. This community only consists of 9 people and all of them have striped skin. The people of South Sulawesi believe that their bodies are striped because of curses and the number of the population is always odd. A child’s birth can mean death for one member of the community. People believe that the population will never be even. Muhlis will counter the narrative about To Balo, re-establishing their position as the descendants of those who once helped the local kingdom, instead of affirming the general view of them as the cursed
