Benjamin Shine: transparent portraits

Benjamin Shine studied fashion design at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design and Central St Martins in London. In 2003 he set up his creative studio, where materials, techniques and constructional ideas continue to inform his diverse portfolio and multidisciplinary approach.Benjamin’s work has attracted a range of clients encompassing fashion labels, product and interior manufacturers, international Arts and Design institutions such as The Crafts Council, UK and The New York Museum of Arts and Design. Global brands include Givenchy, Barclays Wealth, MTV, Eurostar, Deutsche Bank, Coca-Cola and Google. To date, Benjamin has won the Red Dot Design Award, The Enterprising Young Brit Award and The Courvoisier Future 500 Art & Design Award. Recentluy he collaborated with Maison Margiela Artisanal Couture Collection SS2017. Initially he studied fashion design, a choice that introduced him to the art of working with fabrics. Then later on he began to consider the idea of ​​”painting with fabrics” in order to create sculptures that move away from the body. He focused on portraits from the beginning to show the potential of the techniques he was developing. The idea of ​​working a single piece of tulle came later, around 2008, and he continue to be fascinated by the range of ideas and possibilities that this technique and inspired approach. He received an email in which he was asked if he was interested in working with John Galliano at the next Maison Margiela Artisanal collection: “Of course I was overjoyed because I’m a fan of John since I was a fashion student. We met at Maison Margiela in Paris where John has generously made me a visit incredible studio and where I showed him a selection of my work and my prototypes. At the end of tour we were both pretty excited to bring together our two disciplines”. After this incredible experience he would love to create a large collection or collaborate in the guest role of designers in order to explore some more ideas in depth.