‘Stay Without Having Arrived’ by Ketut Nugi: On ‘Selling’ Bali and the Impact of Uncharted Tourism

Stay Without Having Arrived is Ketut Nugi’s on-going solo show at Sewu Satu, a vibrant young gallery in Jakarta that had previously shown The Face of Another; a duo exhibition that explored the mental health constraints that came from people’s everyday masking in society. This time, the gallery is back with an equally thought provoking show on the over-commercialization of Bali’s tourism. 

Nugi himself is a Bali native who has worked as a graphic designer for big name projects such as Bali Beach, The Sayan House, and Amansari Villa. In this role, he had to create advertising campaigns and materials to get people to come to 

different tourist spots, resorts, and hotels in Bali. However, as a Bali native, who is privy to how the industry exploits both the environment and its local people alike, he felt that he had to find a way to voice his concerns. This is why paintings and installations by Ketut Nugi are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Sustainable Cities and Communities, Reduced Inequalities, and Responsible Consumption and Production.

Stay Without Having Arrived is the culmination of these thoughts, it can be summarized by analyzing one painting in the exhibit, titled Elsewhere. In Elsewhere, a man and a woman who do not look like they are Bali natives, are seen busy with their own things in what can only be a beach-side hotel room. Despite the sprawling beach and picturesque sunset outside of their door, the man sits reading a book, completely ignoring the view. Meanwhile, the woman stands in the doorway, taking a photo of the view with her phone, despite her interacting with her surroundings, she is still not fully there, using her phone to mediate her experience instead. This alienation and superficial interaction is how Nugi views Bali’s current tourism industry. Hence the exhibit’s title, Stay Without Having Arrived, summarizes how tourists in Bali are only interacting with the island on a surface level, merely dipping their toes without ever diving too deep to understand the local culture and nature.

Over tourism in Bali has manifested in many different ways, including record breaking traffic jams, increased reports of tourist public misdemeanours, and immigration violations. This has resulted in stricter immigration laws and grass-roots movements to call out tourist misdemeanour through social media. Ketut Nugi’s triptych, When the Sun Goes Down, encapsulates this by showing just how far removed the reality that the tourists live in from the lives of native Balinese.

The triptych reads from left to right, showcasing first a hazy night club, then a drunk bikini clad White woman stumbles on at the beach, before concluding with the third panel, where locals stand around in a daze, trying their best to understand these familiar surroundings that have become so distant. Most Balinese locals would indeed not recognize this night life as their own, considering how one of their biggest religious observance day, Nyepi, which is celebrated as much as Christmas is in Western countries, instead calls for a day of total silence.

Just like its infamous portrayal in Eat, Pray, Love, Balinese culture, tradition, and people value solitude, tranquility and time spent immersing in the island’s picturesque nature. Yet, overtourism culture, as Nugi has portrayed, is increasingly uprooting their lives. Hence, Ketut Nugi’s paintings call for tourists to reflect on their habits and consumerist decisions while in Bali. So that they can respect Bali in its entirety, and experience it as it has been intended for generations before.

Find out more about the exhibited pieces by checking Sewu Satu’s Instagram @sewusatu and Ketut Nugi @nugi.ketut.