Mudzhatty “Thatty” Lakibul

is a Tausug traditional oil painter born in March 1990 in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines, where she lives and works.

Raised in a culturally rich yet often underrepresented environment, her practice is rooted in both personal experience as a contemporary Moro woman and the collective memory of her people.

Although she earned a degree in Nursing from Notre Dame of Jolo College, she chose painting as her primary language for storytelling, self-reflection, and cultural advocacy.

Alongside her artistic practice, she currently works as an Administrative Aide at the Sulu Provincial Governor’s Office.

Features

Sulu Provincial Governor’s Publication

GSIS Annual Art Competition (2021)

Semi-Finalist in Sining Filipina (2026)

Exhibits

Brewing Art, Brewing Culture: The Archipelago and the Peninsula (2019);

Tausug Visual Artists Now at NCCA Gallery, Intramuros (2022);

Contiempo Plazos 2nd Anniversary Art Exhibition (2023);

Threads of the South at OMVI Art Gallery, Tagaytay (2024);

Upsurging in a Contemporary World at Mindanao Art, SM Lanang Davao (2024);

Untitled at Mindanao Art (2025);

Sagwan: A Gathering of Zamboanga and Cebu Artists at Garden Orchid Hotel (2025).

Centering on the tension between modern Tausug identity and ancestral memory, juxtaposed by the intricate frames surrounding her paintings, Lakibul draws from oral traditions of the Sultanate era, combining it with a quiet rage against systemic injustice.

Through dramatic tonal contrasts and emotive realism, these portraits act as a response to ongoing attempts at cultural submission.

A recurring element in her paintings is the emergence of roots or branches from her figures. This symbolizes deeply rooted ancestry, as well as the connection between the land and its people.

Her work highlights the experience of socio-economic oppression through the constant presence of multi-eyed reptiles. These animals are tamed by the young individuals central to her paintings, defying the grim circumstances they find themselves in.

Depicting collective struggles as a consequence of painful inherited histories, the images project a clear declaration of her identity and position.