My name is Eva. I am a video artist who lives and works in New York.
I didn't always live here though. Most of my life I spent in Belgium, the country that continues to be my muse. The country that shaped my passion for art.
Or was it my parents?
As a child, they would take me and my sisters to museums and expose us to all the wonderful artists Belgium harbors. Ensor, Spilliaert, Magritte, Khnopff,... Their off the beaten track style spoke to me in such a profound way, art became more than just an interest. It developed into something I had to do.
And so I picked up a pencil and started drawing, a hobby I maintained and nurtured for many years... until university became my priority. In 2008, I got a masters degree in applied linguistics and started working as an interpreter, a job that allowed me to be creative with words.
But something was missing.
As much as I enjoyed interpreting, I wanted my voice to be heard in a less ephemeral manner... through acting, through drawing.
I became member of a theatre group in Brussels and rekindled my love for drawing portraits, a skill fiercely encouraged by my husband (then boyfriend). He made me take it more seriously. He made me consider art as a possible career.
As my dream of working as an artist became more tangible, so did my husband's job offer in New York.
In February 2014, we took the plunge and moved to Manhattan.
The first months after we left Brussels, I was brimming with inspiration. I had so many emotions to process, almost every day I would churn out a new drawing... But my creativity grew larger than the sheets of paper neatly stacked in front of me.
Didn't I enjoy acting in the theatre group? Didn't I love going to the movies? Didn't I have things to tell?
As I started exploring video, the sheets of paper remained immaculately white.
Film appeared to be a much more effective way to process all the changes I went through. Dramas, emotions, resolutions,... I poured them into short videos. They brought relief and creative satisfaction. And ever since, I haven't stopped filming.
Most of my videos stem from moments and inspirations of my daily life, the self.
I happily transform into how I observe Eva at any given moment. Regardless of the wigs I use and the actors I work with, it's always pieces of me -a multitude of Evas I scroll through.
As I value the spontaneity of the creative process more than the limitations of the script, I let the images take over and push me to explore new directions. Sometimes, they evolve differently and with surprise, altered and moved from my original thought process. As I allow the visuals to take over the story, they often result into crude, raw and unapologetic videos with a baroque twist.
They are provocative and visceral vignettes that stimulate the viewer and inspire wonder.
They make the audience look at things differently and invite them to embrace a place called Absurdia.
Have you been?
Let me take you there.