Artist Eva Rinaldi believes the human body is a living, breathing canvas.
Rinaldi, who grew up in Horningsea Park, uses the human form to tackle issues from world poverty to the power of celebrity.
She attracted recent media hype for her campaign to strip Oprah Winfrey to her swimsuit and cover her with body paint during the talkshow queen’s visit to Australia, all in the name of charity.
But in her latest exhibition, Rinaldi chose to shy away from the spotlight in favour of a secret photo shoot in an unnamed location which was full of graffiti and abandoned railway tracks.
“The body is a medium that lets me express my creative ideas, sometimes even my goals, in a most personal and unique fashion,” she said.
“For many years, my themes have included social equality, ending poverty and, on a commercial basis, helping brands and people stand out from the pack.”
She assembled a team to create Children Help Poverty, using models aged three to 16 years who she painted in bright colours as well-known sports stars.
Muhammad Ali, Ronaldinho, Anna Kournikova and Rafael Nadal all made an appearance, with messages about world poverty scrawled on their arms.
It’s a far cry from her recent exhibition at Bondi Beach with a bodypainted Oprah look-a-like jogging on the sand.
“My son Joseph was a significant part of the inspiration (for the poverty exhibition) because he was recently nominated for a sports achievement award,” Rinaldi said.
“I saw that we as a team could combine creativity, sport, passion and social entrepreneurship.”
She is optimistic Oprah will agree to donate her body for a charity of her choice during her upcoming Australian tour.
“The news media combined with people power has conveyed the message very clearly to Oprah and her friends that we want to paint her and collaborate with her for a worthy cause,” she said. (Credit: Liverpool Leader)
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