Exhibitions

Biography

Lola Greeno is an artist, curator and arts worker. She specialises in traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklace threading, a skill passed down from her mother and maternal grandmother.

Lola is the first Indigenous artist to receive the National Living Treasure Award; Master of Australian Craft for 30 years of experience within the craft industry. The Award supported a solo exhibition entitled Cultural Jewels, which toured nationally from 2014–18.

Lola completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania in Launceston in 1997, a traineeship with the University Tasmania Newnham Gallery (1996) and an internship at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra (2000).

Since 2021, Lola has exhibited internationally in Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Singapore. Lola is represented in many public collections, including but not limited to the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museum of Australia; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston; Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Hobart.

Artist statement

Honouring Lucy Beeton, 2021

My shell necklace was created to honour the legacy of Lucy Beeton, my Great Great Auntie through my mother’s family. I made the exciting discovery while tracing Lucy Beeton back three generations past my mother’s generation, and found Lucy while working on a project in 2021, titled rina-mapali, nimina & kalikina (Lots of Shells, Grasses and Kelp).

Lucy’s necklace is part of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery collection and is made with the Thalotia conica shells. I have always admired the necklace; the size attracted my attention and it reminded me of how young girls first started learning their cultural practice of shell stringing with their family.

Lucy’s father Thomas Beeton taught Lucy many skills. These included how to operate a boat, and other business knowledge. He later sent her to George Town for more tuition. She became a successful businesswoman and set up and operated her first school on Gun Carriage Island.

I have always considered Lucy Beeton a great inspiration for Tasmanian Aboriginal Women. She was a leader within the Furneaux Island community. She learnt so much from her father, and with extra tuition she gained the knowledge to support her community, and achieved the title “The Queen of the Isles”.

In 2014 I made a signature piece to honour Lucy, entitled Queeny. I created a shell crown from king maireener shells, it featured in the Cultural Jewels exhibition, part of the Australian Design Centre’s Living Treasures series.

Honouring Lucy Beeton is a different shell necklace using the same shells Lucy used to make her necklace. This necklace could be considered more contemporary. However, it is also a way forward for my new work and although it is different, it is a very special way of celebrating Lucy Beeton.

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