Rooted in the wind

This painting lingers on feminine strength, resilience, and identity, unfolding through abstraction and charged, tactile symbolism. The female figure surfaces slowly from veils of red and earthen pigment, her closed eyes holding a moment of inwardness, an act of endurance, reflection, and quiet resistance. Saturated reds pulse between vulnerability and survival, carrying the weight of lived experience and an inner, smouldering fire. Through layered surfaces and expressive marks, the figure exists in a state of becoming and unravelling, where presence trembles against dissolution and identity is shaped by pressure and time. Natural echoes resonant with eucalyptus in my broader practice emerge as metaphors for displacement, continuity, and survival. The work ultimately honours women’s resilience not as spectacle, but as an intimate, sustained force, one that persists, breathes, and endures despite erosion.

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Maryam Attar Bashi is a Melbourne-based visual artist specialising in immersive installation and expanded painting practices. Born in Ahvaz, Iran (1981), she relocated to Australia in 2005, where she pursued her studies in graphic design at Enmore Design Centre and later completed a Bachelor of Visual Communication Design at Deakin University.

Maryam has recently completed her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at RMIT University, marking a significant evolution in her practice from graphic design to contemporary fine art. Her work focuses on creating immersive environments that explore themes of feminism, activism, diaspora, and the socio-political realities of her homeland, Iran.

Drawing from personal experience, Maryam critically engages with issues surrounding women’s rights, gender inequality, and the impact of religious and cultural systems. Her practice often incorporates self-representation as a performative strategy, positioning herself simultaneously as subject and creator to express lived experiences of displacement, resistance, and resilience.

Working across installation, painting, and drawing, her projects confront dominant narratives and challenge entrenched gender stereotypes. Through layered materials, symbolic elements, and spatial interventions, she constructs emotionally charged environments that invite reflection on identity, power, and freedom.

Maryam has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions and is recognised as an award-winning artist.