Farideh Zariv holds a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Tehran University, a master’s degree in Curating and Cultural Leadership from UNSW Art & Design, and a master’s degree in Visual Art from the Australian National University (ANU). With over two decades of experience in gallery management and curation, she has served as the Director of Amin Art Gallery for 20 years, the Director of Middle East Art Gallery for 5 years, and the Director and Curator of Cure 8 Art Gallery in Oman for 4 years. Her expertise spans exhibition curation, cultural programming, and fostering artistic dialogue within international and regional contexts. A practising artist for over 35 years, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions worldwide and has presented solo exhibitions in major museums, including Iziko Museum (South Africa), Canberra Museum and Art Gallery (Australia), and Bait Al Zubair Museum (Oman). Artist Statement “She Grows” In this piece, I imagine a woman’s hand as the point of origin — a quiet force of renewal rising from the earth. The metal base reflects the rigid structures she must push through, the hard frameworks that attempt to contain her. Yet from within that severity, a hand emerges like a root, and from her wrist an eucalyptus branch begins to form — an evocation of Australia’s landscapes and their resilient flora. Eucalyptus stands as a symbol of endurance and strength. This shift from metal to eucalyptus marks a movement from confinement toward expansion.