An Indigenous Taiwanese Painter Finds Home in Australia-Over There Ep. 2
Eval Malinjinnan is a Bunun Indigenous Taiwanese painter whose vivid, color-saturated portraits of Indigenous women have found an unexpected home half a world away in Australia. Born in Buqaiz Village in Puli, Nantou, she grew up between two worlds: a mother who raised her and her sister to carry themselves like princesses, and a society that questioned her identity. From a young age, drawing and painting became her way of making sense of the world around her.
In the middle of a long spiritual journey, Eval spent years moving between countries. Then she settled in Australia, and something shifted. The pristine colors of the eastern Australian landscape suddenly began speaking to her, and a café owner and fellow painter named Greg encouraged her to pick up the brush again after a decade away. Slowly, painting became what she calls her fifth language, a way to tell her story when words fell short.
This episode follows Eval as she prepares her Goddess series for Art Taipei, one of Asia's largest art fairs. Through her journey, the film explores the questions that shape any artist’s path: how do you find your own voice in the face of adversity? What do you do when you hit a wall? Eval opens up candidly about her own experience and the crucial role her husband's quiet support has played in moments of doubt.
From her childhood memories in central Taiwan to her sanctuary in the Blue Mountains of Australia, this is a portrait of an artist who has learned that her worth lies within herself.
