Eva Gjaltema is a Dutch visual artist who has lived in Berlin since 2012. She has mainly works with the medium of photography, collage and mixed media within her projects, where the photo book also plays an important role.

Her work explores different contemporary issues, where she is focused on the notion of identity, memory and time. Specific themes are: the female identity, motherhood, power structures within relationships, family and society and environmental concerns. Her subjects are chosen very intuitively and have their origin within personal experiences, but are universal issues.  

She has a Masters Degree in Cultural Studies and a Bachelors Degree in Photographic Design from the Royal Academy for the Visual Arts in The Hague. She is currently studying to become an Art Therapist.

In 2010 her work was nominated for the Dutch Doc Award for her exhibition ‘Famylje’ which was shown at the Noorderlicht Photofestival in 2010 and in the Fotomuseum Den Haag in 2015, and was also acquired by the Fries Museum in the Netherlands. She won the Post Middendorp Assignment to create the work 'Knoalster' in 2011, which was exhibited at the Kunsthal Rotterdam and as a Solo at the Noorderlicht Gallery Groningen. Other projects were nominated by Les Boutographies, Encontros da Imagem, Lensculture, Athens Photofestival, Der Greif. She exhibited amongst others at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Frauenmuseum Wiesbaden, Rencontres d’Arles, Galerie Huit Arles, Jarvis Dooney Gallery Berlin, Hellerau Photography Awards, Getxophotofestival. In 2022 her series ‘Hiding/Hidden’ was one of the winners of the Hariban Award 2022.

www.evagjaltema.org

When did you realize you wanted to pursue art professionally?

My father died unexpectedly from a cardiovascular attack in 2003. I was already very engaged with photography as a medium and constantly creating new work as a hobby. At that time, I realized how short life can be and how sad it would be if I don't have the courage to follow my deepest dreams and I applied for art school. To my surprise I was accepted and the journey began!

Whether artist or friend, who has continued to inspire your work?

I feel inspired by my personal environment, my friends and family, my Buddhist friends, my colleagues, my (current art therapy and old art academy) classmates, my artist friends, people who have the courage to fight their inner and outer demons on a daily basis.  

What do you enjoy exploring through your art?

I enjoy exploring the inner realm, finding out new ways to express personal experiences, emotions and traumata, that have their origin in general social and psychological problems. I also enjoy working with new art materials and sizes, feeling free and curious like a child.

Looking back, what advice do you wish you could give your younger self?

Trust yourself, be brave, be confident.

What is one thing you hope your audience walks away with after experiencing/viewing your work?

I hope to inspire the viewer to be more open with our environment about our personal inner conflicts, emotions and traumata since we can only learn from each other to change our society and future. I believe in the value of real authenticity of having the freedom to express how you feel without being condemned for this.