Significant events & rituals dedicated to the Goddess of Rice
Muhlis Lugis, Bugis people, Indonesia b.1987 / Sangiang Serri (Entertaining the Sangiang Serri) 2021 / Woodcut print on canvas / 100 × 140cm / Purchased 2024 with funds from Project 11 through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Muhlis Lugis / View full image
Indonesian printmaker Muhlis Lugis’s large-scale woodcuts explore his cultural heritage by reflecting and recontextualising aspects of Bugis customs, philosophy and mythology. Grounded in the teachings and culture of the Bugis community of South Sulawesi, his meticulous compositions reaffirm the significance of cultural practice and identity amid the ever-changing landscape of Indonesian society.
Throughout the artists 'Sangiang Serri (Goddess of Rice)' series of works, Lugis illustrates significant events and rituals dedicated to the rice goddess detailed in the influential epic Bugis narrative La Galigo.
Sangiang Serri (Entertaining the Sangiang Serri) 2021 (illustrated) portrays the Buginese appadendang ritual, a joyful performance of gratitude for abundant harvests. An important expression of cultural identity, the ceremony consists of beating a lesung (mortar) and alu (pestle) in dendang (rhythm) to produce a beat pleasing to the goddess, which forms the musical accompaniment to the Padendang dancers. The observance of Mappadendang is a significant community gathering of unity and cultural celebration
Sangiang Serri (Entertaining the Sangiang Serri) 2021
Muhlis Lugis, Bugis people, Indonesia b.1987 / Sangiang Serri (Entertaining the Sangiang Serri) 2021 / Woodcut print on canvas / 100 × 140cm / Purchased 2024 with funds from Project 11 through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Muhlis Lugis / View full image
In Sangiang Serri Bersemayam di Lumbung (Sangiang Serri Resides in the Barn) 2021 (illustrated), Sangiang Serri’s loyal feline companion Meong Mpalo Karellae guards the goddess in the rakkeang (granary) in the attic of a traditional Buginese house. The tricoloured cat’s persistent loyalty to Sangiang Serri is emblematic of favourable social values within Bugis society.
Sangiang Serri Bersemayam di Lumbung (Sangiang Serri Resides in the Barn) 2021
Muhlis Lugis, Bugis people, Indonesia b.1987 / Sangiang Serri Bersemayam di Lumbung (Sangiang Serri Resides in the Barn) 2021 / Woodcut print on canvas / 100 × 150cm / Courtesy: Muhlis Lugis / View full image
Persembahan Sang Dewi (The Goddess’s Offering) 2021 (illustrated) brings to life in intricate detail the moment of transformation of Sangiang Serri into rice by Dewata Seuwae, the supreme god in the upper world.
Persembahan Sang Dewi (The Goddess’s Offering) 2021
Muhlis Lugis, Bugis people, Indonesia b.1987 / Persembahan Sang Dewi (The Goddess’s Offering) 2021 / Woodcut print on canvas / 150 × 90cm / Courtesy: Muhlis Lugis / View full image
Edited extract from the publication The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, QAGOMA, 2024
Asia Pacific Triennial Extended
View these works at QAG until 29 June
Asia Pacific Triennial
30 November 2024 – 27 April 2025
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)
Brisbane, Australia
Free entry