On the death of the Berlin performer Eva: from the power of art

Perseverance made a living work of art from Eva & Adele. At the beginning of the 1990s, they opted for an existence as a female -read twin couple with an almost identical appearance: shaved, deliberately overwhelmed, brightly colored costumes and pumps for both. Since then they have been consistent for two, initially in Berlin have stood their legs on vernissages in the stomach, are strolled through art fairs and organized by exhibitions. With success: They have long been known far beyond the capital.

Great grief

The grief of the loss of Eva, which Adele announced on Instagram, is correspondingly great. The radio and daily newspapers report that fans send heart on social media on Adeles Publication of a portrait of Eva, May 21, as her day of death and a very personal statement: “Eva went back to the future today. She left this world and enter the eternal stage.” Eva finally had no energy after an elaborate operation on the spine and died in her arms. Adele remains behind with a comprehensive life’s work that – at least in the local dimension – she has to continue alone.

The artist has already explained that she is firmly decided. For the double appearance, which did not just turn the visual habits upside down, a large oeuvre is joined with painting, photography and installations. In 2023, “wing strike” was one of her joint exhibitions at the Kunstverein Heppenheim, “Keep the Rosy Wing Strong” a solo show the year before in Munich.

Keep the pink wings stiff – you want to call Adele, which, like Eva, has disciplined infinitely over three decades. They always only appeared together in public, private was taboo. Even home visits were carefully staged.

In 2018, Tagesspiegel editor Gunda Bartels visited the couple in Charlottenburg. “The welcome committee is waiting for the stairs. Rosa lurexpullis, black wool skirts, silver ankle boots. As always, the smaller nobility is on the left,” Bartels wrote about her meeting at an exhibition in the Berlin Me Collectors Room of the super collector Thomas Olbricht. And that Eva & Adele would show 163 costume plans in the show, on which they “divided their hair into categories such as bodice, stockings, shoes, bags.

© Imago/Breuel-Bild/Imago

A pack list performance that a curious lightthem of the tremendous effort of an artistic life design, which knows the retreat to his own four walls, no break from each other. ”

The identical appearances were hard work

The identical appearances were hard work. However, they did not only serve prominence. Eva & Adele fought for her right to be different for over three decades. There were situations with potential for escalation: skinheads in Weimar or angry fellow travelers in the Venetian vaporetto that felt provoked by the couple. It was not due to Eva & Adele’s behavior, courtesy and an almost frozen smile were part of the firm equipment. Rather, it was due to the intended ambiguity of a trans-historical existence in every respect.

One thing is clear: Eva & Adele were married, Eva towered nobility by 15 centimeters, so it is officially on her website. It is also clear that there will be a foundation that will continue to make the common work visible in the future. The fact that they came to Berlin from the future, on the other hand, is one of the claims that Adele underlined again in their obituary: “Your belief in the power of art was infinite.”

As performers, the two visionary, their commitment to tolerance and self -determination are certain of both lives. If you want to visualize this, you should look at the permanent exhibition in Hamburg’s train station: The duo handed over the work “Cum-Polaroids” to the Museum 2023 as a donation with over 200 Polaroids that Eva & Adele show at its appearances worldwide. “They were always Eva & Adele,” writes the house on Instagram, “even in their dreams”.