Sid Pattni Australia/India, b. 1986

Sid Pattni (b. 1986) is an Australian artist of Indian descent whose painting explores questions of identity, culture, and belonging through colonial and diasporic histories. His works draw on the visual and political legacy of South Asia under British rule, depicting colonial European figures associated with power, alongside female figures that echo Western ideals and representations shaped during the colonial period. These characters are framed by animals drawn from Mughal miniature hunting scenes and by floral motifs inspired by the Polier Album, a colonial archive produced through collaboration between a British officer and an Indian artisan. Repainting these figures becomes for Pattni an act of reclaiming and rethinking histories that continue to shape diasporic identities. The animals, always in motion, suggest identities in constant negotiation, while the faceless portraits strip the figures of authority, allowing them to function as open symbols. Set against cosmic backgrounds that evoke deep time, the works place the colonial period within a much broader historical horizon.

He has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including India Art Fair (2025), Sydney Contemporary (2025), Untitled Art Miami (2025) and held several solo exhibitions. He was selected as an Archibald Prize finalist (2025), awarded the Kennedy Prize (2023), Flinders Lane Gallery Exploration Award (2024), Khōj Cross -Hatchings Residency, New Delhi (2024), and was the recipient of the Minderoo Artist Fund Grant (2022). His work is held in public and private collection accross Australia, such as Artbank Australia, Sidney ; Australian Parliament, Canberra ; Ormond College Brack, Melbourne ; Santa Maria college, Attadale ; and the Australian Embassy in New Delhi, India.