Bodypainting

Bodypainting, a photo by humanstatuebodyart on Flickr.

Eva Rinaldi: Bodyartist, artist, photographer, community entrepreneur

This month our feature profile is on one of the Inner West's, if not Australia's, most diverse and talented creative artists. To call her a creative artist doesn't really do our subject justice, because she is that and a whole lot more, but creative arts is her foundation and main career focus.

The name Eva Rinaldi will quite likely sound familiar to those who follow the entertainment and arts world.

While certainly not over exposed to media coverage, she has attracted her fair share over the years and is often even part of the news making process as she helps companies and individuals come up with  media and marketing ideas and concepts via her bodypainted and human statue creations, in addition to her photographs and news reporting on red carpet premiere events, music concerts, and all manner of other social happenings in and around Sydney.

Eva is one of those people who are so multi-talented its hard to pigeon hole them to just one occupation, so we won't try. Bodyartist / bodypainter, artist, professional photographer, internet publisher and supermum - Eva does it all, with the support of her family and her team - mainly comprised of her creative arts and photography students.

To get a grasp on the type of work Eva does let's look at some of her past few days activities... last night she shot and reported on a red carpet event at Hoyts, The Entertainment Quarter at Fox Studios and today it was off to the family farm at Goulburn where she took photographs, some of which will be displayed in her upcoming art exhibition, and then it was back to the Sydney office to work on Human Statue Bodyart campaigns for the likes of Foxtel, Vodafone and Hilton Hotels, and how can we forget the abstract art where she is in the final stages of completing sets on media heat seekers Rupert Murdoch, James Packer, Shane Warne, and his wife, Liz Hurley.

Much of Eva's abstract art creations carry a theme of celebrity for good, anti bullying and anti discrimination.

We spoke to Eva about some of her current projects and she shared: "Oh gosh, its so busy at the moment. It's quite a juggling act with my human statues, celebrity paintings, corporate campaigns, red carpet photography events and looking after the family, not to mention the family farm. Every week I'm shooting (photographing) celebrities and news makers and filing reviews. Human statues and bodypainting is our bread and butter, but the celebrity photography and internet publishing has really taken off for us also. I'm currently also painting media baron Rupert Murdoch, as well as doing an abstract of Shane Warne and his lovely wife Liz Hurley. For my paintings I like to choose subjects that ignite strong public interest and who have experienced life's ups and downs, and who use their celebrity for achieving good in the world. Murdoch and Packer have done a lot for Indigenous Australia, much of which is not known, and Shane and Liz do a lot of fundraising and help support children in Australian hospitals. I love sharing my creative gifts while at the same time offering exposure to worthy causes and people who make a positive difference in the world. I've borrowed a few pages out of the book of U2's Bono (Paul Hewson) who calls it 'currency of celebrity'. This year we're going for some government and private grants to help push forward our community projects where we involve many of our creative arts and disadvantaged students, so I'm hopeful that some of our latest news coverage helps make some of my modest dreams a reality.  It's been a challenging year, but things have really been on the upswing of late".

We asked Eva to elaborate on her community and anti-bullying work, projects and inspiration, and after some hesitation she opened up to us: "I was bullied and discriminated against as a child - and still am sometimes. My heritage is Italian and my parents immigrated to Australia when I was a child. We all had to work really hard for what we have achieved. I was the different one at school. When I first got into the media industry I was also bullied by a couple of nasty types who didn't seem to respond well to a blonde women of artistic background making major positive waves in an industry they had been in for a while. It was a bit like 'You wog's are all the same'. One of my brothers is openly gay and he was bullied as a child also. I've recently submitted some of my artistic works to the IDAHO Exhibition at Parramatta which covers these themes. If they sell I will be able to donate more to my favourite worthy causes. I'm also ramping up my involvement in assisting disadvantaged students. My teaching work has exposed me to some people who have missed out on a lot of traditional support structures and those who experienced learning difficulties. Last year we were able to identify some of their core strengths and facilitate some paid and volunteer employment opportunities for them. Our creative arts and media program helped us discover some hidden talents in the group which some Australian employers place high value in. One student helps in first-aid at music festivals and events and other has secured gigs in television commercials advertising technology products. I believe and tell others - never give up and believe that anything is impossible".

Photography, another medium of both art (and media) has long been a passion of Eva's. She first picked up a camera at ten years of age. Eva has been making powerful images documenting children with bodyart, fashion and popular culture since 1997, when her photographs began appearing in publications and then later she commenced working for corporate events creating a diverse body of work.

She refined her art at locations such as Bondi Beach and the secret tram shed in the inner west in Sydney, and at her family farm in Goulburn New South Wales.

Some recognisable names that Eva has photographed:

Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Joel Edgerton, Stevie Nicks, Russell Crowe, Elton John, Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Maxi Priest, Michael Buble', Lionel Ritchie, Neil Diamond, Rihanna, Bryan Ferry, Chris Isaak, Cyndi Lauper, Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, Enrique Iglesias, Taylor Lautner, Jennifer Hawkins, Miranda Kerr, Rowan Atkinson, Owen Wilson, Danielle Spencer, Lincoln Lewis, Ita Buttrose, Sarah Murdoch, Kerry-Anne Kennerley, Frank Lowy, George Negus, Seal and Jack Black.

Current projects:

Art abstracts of Rupert Murdoch, Shane Warne and Liz Hurley, and corporate bodyart, bodypainting and human statues.

Eva is soon to once again commence her photography and make-up / bodyart courses, so if your interested be sure to send her an email or contact her office.

Once again, well done Eva on your career and community achievements and initiatives.

Readers, stay with us right here, as next month we will feature yet another amazing talent.


For more information on Eva and her work check out websites:

www.humanstatuebodyart.com.au
www.evarinaldi.com