Lina Eve is an Australian artist, adoption activist, singer/songwriter, photographer and
filmmaker
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
.
Life and work
Lina Eve was born in Germany to Polish parents. Her father was a
Holocaust survivor
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...
, and, to escape war torn Europe, the family immigrated to Australia in 1951. At 17 years old, pregnant and unmarried, she lost her first child to
forced adoption Forced adoption refers to the practice of removing children from their biological families and placing them for adoption against the wishes of the parents, often with little or no consent. This practice has historically been a significant issue in v ...
in 1964.
Eve travelled back to Europe where she worked on a
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
in Israel; as a folk-singer in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
; as a model in Greece and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
; and as a
silversmith
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...
, travelling overland between Europe and the East. In Australia she has worked as a singer/songwriter, photographer, visual artist, and as a filmmaker.
Eve started painting in 1994 studying
Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
at
Southern Cross University
Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranke ...
, in
Lismore, NSW, and sold her first paintings in the same year. Her paintings have been selling locally, nationally and internationally ever since. Her ''Bad Girl'' series,
music, and videos have enhanced her activism in
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
reform and, along with her
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
series, ''Reclaiming my Family History'', have led to recognition in Australia, the United States and Europe.
After venturing into the world of filmmaking, she won the Best Australian Music Video Award at the
WOW Film Festival in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 2009,
for ''Bitter Wind''.
Exhibitions
;Solo exhibitions
*“Bad Girl” & “People and Places” Roxy Gallery Kyogle Feb 2008
*Mental Health Conference, Liverpool Sydney, 2002
*“Tributes” Upstairs Gallery, Lismore. Jan 18- Feb 18, 1999
*“Reclaiming my Family History” Roxy Gallery, Kyogle. Nov. 21, 1997.
;Group exhibitions
*“Bad Girl Series” Black Mountain Clubhouse, NC. USA 2005
*“Neurotic Visionaries & Paranoid Jews” Makor, NYC, NY, USA April 2005
*“SAGAS” (Secret Adoption Grief Art Show) New Jersey, USA 2000
*“SAGAS” Washington, USA 2000
*Bastard Nation Conference in Atlantic City USA. 1999
*“The Holocaust through the Eyes of the Artist”
*Wilshire Boulevard Temple, LA, USA, Sept. 1999
*Mental Health Conference, Wacol, QLD, 2004
*“Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” Lismore Regional Gallery Feb, 2003
*“The Poetics of Survival” with Bonney Bombach, Gold Coast Gallery, 1999
*“Faces” Exhibition, Upstairs Gallery, Lismore.
*Women Artist’s Diary Exhibition, Waywood Gallery, 1998
*“Guava Jelly Show”, Coldstream Yamba. 1997
*Portrait Exhibition, Coldstream Yamba.1997
*“Cultural Alternatives” Roxy Gallery Kyogle 1997.
*Women Artist’s Diary Exhibition, Brooklet House, 1997
*“In Focus” Photographic Exhibition, Roxy Gallery Kyogle, Oct. 17, 1997.
*Southern Cross University Graduation Show. 1996
*Lismore Regional Gallery.1996
*“The Painter’s Exhibition”, Chocolate Factory, Lismore.1996
*Bare Bones Gallery, Group shows, Bangalow. 1996 & 1997
*Epicenter, Byron Bay.1996
*Stanthorpe Regional Gallery. 1996
*Southern Cross University Museum, 1996
*Trinity Arts Festival, Lismore.1996
Prizes
*Winner Best Australian Music Video “Bitter Winds” WOW film festival Sydney 2009
*1st prize photography Bentley Art Show. 1997.
*First Prize, Ilford Photographic Competition for 3rd Year Tertiary Students, 1998
*First Prize for Photography, Bentley Art Show. 1998.
*First Prize, Ilford Photographic Competition for 2nd Year Tertiary Students, 1997
*Third Prize, Ilford Photographic Competition for 3rd Yr Tertiary Students, 1996
*WA. Finalist Mandorla Art Prize, New Norcia Gallery, 1996
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eve, Lina
1946 births
Living people
Australian women painters
Southern Cross University alumni
20th-century Australian women artists
20th-century Australian artists
21st-century Australian women artists
21st-century Australian artists
Adoption activists