CONTEMPORARY ART STOCKROOM *GUEST ARTIST - Sid Pattni

Sold A fly in the milk II 2024, oil, synthetic polymer on canvas , 101cm x 76cm

Artist statement: Resilience is central to my exploration of identity - a theme that resonates within the context of my upbringing and cultural heritage. My work is derived from an archival image of my mother on her wedding day—a pivotal moment laden with significance and personal memory. Inspired by the gilded Sati hands imprinted on the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, I have commissioned a local artisan to create the border of the painting with Hamsa hands—a symbolic gesture that invites viewers to contemplate the dialectical relationship between tradition and transformation, as well as the nuanced negotiation of identity. My work is an invitation to engage with the complexities of diasporic identity - to unravel the threads of personal history, collective memory, and inherited legacies. This image of my mother on her wedding day has also been incorporated on one of the hung sublimation prints, symbolising a cyclical narrative of identity formation and reclamation.