Archibald finalist’s work lands on waterfront

AS ARCHIBALD Prize fever sweeps across Geelong, an installation inspired by a first-time finalist has popped up on the Geelong Waterfront, inviting passers-by an opportunity to stop and reflect on their own identity.

Affectionately known as the “face that stops a nation”, more than 70,000 people are expected to visit the prestigious exhibition while it is housed at the Geelong Gallery, the only Victorian venue to host it this year.

Indian Australian artist Sid Pattni’s Self portrait (the act of putting it back together) is among the 57 shortlisted works to grace the gallery’s walls.

The work, he said, is an exploration of identity as a “constant negotiation between inherited histories and the lived realities of the present”.

The portrait’s ornate and hand beaded outer border is inspired by Mughal miniature paintings. Inside, Pattni wears the regalia King George wore the day he colonised India, and the turban of the Mughal emperor he dethroned. Only Pattni’s eyes are visible.

“The reason I’m faceless is because identity is not really a fixed destination for me, it’s constantly in flux, and so the face is devoid of features because I really don’t see it as a fixed statement of identity – it’s still in process.

“I was born in London, grew up in Kenya, raised in Perth – the storied history of migration and trying to assimilate. I’ve got Indian heritage, so there’s also a colonial history behind that, so it’s about unpacking all these things that go into making identity and trying to bring them together.”

Until October 13, an installation inspired by his portrait will adorn The Carousel. The border remains, but Pattni’s self-portrait has been replaced with a mirror that invites others to reflect on their own selfhood.

Geelong Gallery chief executive Humphrey Clegg said the installation’s site was a fitting choice, given the city’s own history.

“I love that it’s on the waterfront because Geelong, for so many decades, was a gateway into Australia. Colonialism literally came through here, so it’s a really fascinating work to have in this space.

“I have British heritage and there’s a lot of colonialism that I need to unpack and understand what that is, and even if that didn’t exist, just who we are, the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, the stories other people tell us about who we are, how we engage with the world.”

The 2025 Archibald Prize is at Geelong Gallery until November 9.