The horse, or Asb in Farsi, occupies a special place in Iranian culture. In historical literature, we have accounts of the hero Rostam’s steed, Rakhsh, as immortalized by the 10th century poet Ferdowsi of Tus in the Shahnameh. Then there was Siavosh’s horse, Shabrang, and of course the wild stallion of Dariush, Pasacas, that only Cyrus the Younger could tame to ride. The horse is a symbol of intelligence, strength and unbridled energy and the wilder the horse, the greater the hero required who could master it to ride. The Iranian born artist, Farideh Zariv, seeks in her art to revive this mythology of the horse. In her prints, paintings and multi-layered mixed media works she seeks to incorporate emblematic symbols of horses which she has derived from ancient Iranian art – sculptures, ceramics and paintings. She avoids the literal and the mimetic, but employs the highly stylised emblems which were used to denote horses derived largely from Iranian art rich in its folkloristic associations.

Farideh Zariv is an accomplished technician in the artistic strategies which she employs. She frequently thinks like a printmaker, one who constantly layers images to build up surfaces, where we are conscious that we are being told several different stories. The first impression of these works is that of ancient medieval murals, where we witness paintings from several different ages. It is like a palimpsest where below the present surface we experience as if echoes of forgotten ancestors. It is as if the heroes of ancient Iran are being called upon through their horses to assist the present generation in their struggle with the forces of darkness and oppression. It is like an appeal to awaken the spiritual strength of ancient Iran which somehow lies encoded in its equine symbols. Although many of the references which occur in Farideh Zariv’s art may find their origins in Iranian antiquity, epic literature and folklore, the seven years of her art encapsulated in this body of work also bears witness to her work as a contemporary art practitioner, rather than one who is striving to resuscitate old symbols and to imitate ancient styles. In a piece such as Surrounding Purity, 2003, she employs digital technologies, including Photoshop, vivid contemporary colours and stencils which sit alongside sheets of leaf gold and medieval designs. It is very much a case of venerating the past and making the past serve the present as a source of spiritual strength and inspiration.

Farideh Zariv is an artist who not only layers her imagery, but also layers her levels of meaning. Although she avoids a direct narrative, she sets up numerous symbols which operate on different levels. Some produce a psychological resonance, others touch on mystical numerology or hint at other realities. In her artistic vision you are invited to enter a highly romantic dream-like world where proud horses of ancient Iran prance and gallop through history and the surfaces of her artwork.