The shell necklaces are the most significant thing to the Tasmanian Aboriginal history because they are the continuing craft of our community that’s never been lost, at least not by the Island women anyway. I’m just so proud of where all my necklaces are, virtually all around Australia.
And I now tell my grandkids, you know you can go to the Powerhouse in Sydney and see one of your grandmother’s necklaces and their great grandmother’s necklaces in the National Galley in Canberra so you know it’s pretty special. Their history is stored in those places.
Aunty Lola Greeno is a highly respected and much loved senior Pakana/Tasmanian Elder and a National Living Treasure. A senior shell necklace stringer, known for her distinctive, often colourful and iridescent, delicate strands of shells collected from the coastlines of Tasmania's mainland and the Furneaux Island shores, Aunty Lola uses skills passed down from her mother and maternal grandmother and continues to share this knowledge with future generations..
Aunty 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. In 2023 Aunty Lola was awarded the esteemed? Don Macfarlane Prize, awarded to a senior Australian artist, in recognition of their unwavering, agenda-setting arts practice, ongoing cultural contribution and leadership, and commitment to mentorship. In the same year she was awarded an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Tasmania in honour of her lifelong dedication to her community and culture.
Lola has exhibited internationally in Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Singapore. Lola is represented in many public collections, including 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.
Why I make art is not just about art, but a significant cultural practice passed down through many generations of my family, from my great-grandmother to me, and now to my granddaughters and extended family of nieces.