A photograph against a white background dotted with silver spots. Beneath it, a drawing: a Janus-like bald head with a central eye and two kiss marks on a bowl-shaped base. A UFO in the milky way?

Actually, this may well be the “time machine” with which EVA & ADELE claimed to have landed in West Berlin from the future in 1989 – the birth of an artist duo now famous worldwide. From then on, these “twins” staged their blend of continuous performance and living art installation – always together, inseparable, and in matching outfits. Flamboyant and elaborately made-up, they were as present at major international art events as in everyday Berlin life. They also gained renown in painting, photography, video and sculpture.

Their motto: “WHEREVER WE ARE, IS MUSEUM.” As a total artwork, they blurred boundaries between public and private, life and art, and, as a queer couple, those of gender and identity. Much about them remained mysterious: they never revealed their ages or names, only their body measurements – more typical of physical artworks. Part of their artistic practice also involved entering into a civil union, following EVA’s change of legal gender. On 21 May 2025, EVA finally ‘returned to the future’.

ADELE, who continues the body of work solo, left us further pieces from her time with EVA, as well as mementos of her gay brother Alois Haas (1960–1924). Haas was not only a squatter, cook and horse lover, but also an artistic person. He was frequently involved in EVA & ADELE’s performances – likely also in our find!?

A photo shoot within a photo shoot: below left, EVA & ADELE, who had symbolically appeared as a bridal couple in 1991, and in the centre, then Alois as a photographer on horseback with a camera on a pole. The caption ‘Family Portrait’ (1992) could not be more fitting. A cheerful image – and our find to mark the first year since EVA’s death.