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span class="inline inline-left">Not while I am working, an acrylic on canvas (180x220 centimeters). JP/Munarsih SahanaYou’re not likely to grasp what Muhammad Lugas Syllabus’ last exhibition “Independence Dead” is really about until you’ve walked through the gallery and seen his cartoon-like works for yourself.

Lugas’ third solo exhibition, currently at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, features 14 paintings, mostly on large canvases, and three-dimensional works like sculptures, installations and video art.

A series of three comic books are also on display, recounting stories represented in paintings and other works around the gallery.

Lugas was born in Bengkulu, South Sumatra, in 1987, and is now completing his studies at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta.

As a young artist, he expressed his imagination and his already comically monstrous perspective on life with great aesthetic freedom in these works. His art depicts the fairytales of his comic books, which are based on bedtime stories his grandfather told him when he was young.

The titles of some of his works are derived from characters of an imagined state called Negara Anda-andai, which is described in the comic books. Prince Pugok, Mr. Bedentum, the Bull, Mr. Damu, D’Jalat and Lady Madonna all belong to this fictitious world.

Curator AA. Nurjaman said “Independence Dead” was in fact a continuation of Lugas’ two previous solo exhibitions, “Neo Adaptation” at the Arya Seni Gallery in Singapore (2008) and “Welcome to the Family” at Art Season Jakarta (2010).

His first solo exhibition emphasized his experience adapting to new situations while the second delved into finding friends while studying art in Yogyakarta, like fellow artists and curators, Nurjaman said.

“This current exhibition deals with another series of processes he has gone through while maturing not only as a person but also as an artist,” said Nurjaman.

One may see an improvement in his technical mastery, with the use of strong color combinations often found in comic books and cartoons.

While preparing for the exhibition, his father, an army soldier and later businessman, died.

“That is why Lugas has personal reasons for juxtaposing his search for independence and facing death in the theme of the exhibition,” Nurjaman added.

In Not while I am working, an acrylic on canvas (180x220 centimeters), Lugas portrays himself, an artist working on his painting, and the Grim Reaper carrying a scythe in the background.

The Grim Reaper failed to take the artist’s life since he was busy working. The message the artist conveys is that death is definite but life will be more meaningful when one has creative works to share with others.

Other paintings depict tales from his three comic books about Prince Pugok who attacked and conquered another state ruled by Lady Madonna. In the end, Prince Pugok falls for Lady Madonna and decides to marry her.

The two characters are featured in Angel and Demon, an acrylic on canvas (140x160 centimeters).

Soldiers pop up in several other paintings as comical and often satirical animal figures. Here Come the Bulls from Sumatra, an acrylic on canvas (180x580 centimeters consisting of two panels) depicts bull soldiers indulging themselves at the beach after they find out that the state they planned to invade is in fact a nice place with beautiful beaches.

Lugas is critical of the soldiers’ performance, although it may not have much to do with his father’s decision to resign from the army.

Eyes feature prominently in his art, and imply that soldiers engage more in spying than waging real war.

Rabbits are also used to personify soldiers like in How to Train a Rabbit Army, an acrylic on canvas (180x220 centimeters) featuring a line-up of rabbit soldiers under the command of an aging rabbit.

Lugas exhibits more freedom in playing with characters in his self-portrait Lugas Luke, an acrylic on canvas (140x190 centimeters), which depicts himself as Lucky Luke, the western cowboy.

How to train a Rabbit Army, an acrylic on canvas (180x220 centimeters). JP/Munarsih SahanaIn Mata Hati, an acrylic on canvas (180x220 centimeters), locals and foreigners mingle at a gambling table. The characters represented are former President Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, local hero Si Buta dari Goa Hantu (The Blind from the Ghost Cave), Spiderman, Superman and Lugas himself (the last three are blindfolded).

Lugas also plays with more media in his three-dimensional works. His installation Paradiso features a swing underneath a guillotine placed in a dark chamber at the corner of the gallery. Viewers are invited to sit on the menacing swing and take a risk.

Lugas represents a generation whose cultural identity has merged with global culture in his artworks. He picks up characters from tales around the world and uses artistic techniques influenced by modern cartoons.

Cassandra Lehman Schultz, the owner of a gallery in Brisbane, Australia, invited Lugas Syllabus to present an exhibition with Finnish-born artist Erick Rossi at her gallery in September because of their common approach to art exploration.