Denman Prospect, New York, London and Paris are never mentioned in the same breath, but Canberra artist Benjamin Shine, whose clients include the MET, Givenchy, Beyonce and Vogue, has put the ACT on the map with an international art award.
His autumn leaf-inspired sculpture Everchange, located in Denman Prospect, has earned a merit award in the landscape category by global hub of the commissioned art world — CODAworx — and made the top 100 list, which attracted entries from 14 countries.
Benjamin confided that Everchange was actually originally intended for the National Arboretum.
“I designed it for the Arboretum in 2014 as part of a design competition, which fizzled out,” said Benjamin, who did a commission for Prince Albert II of Monaco a couple of years ago.
“Then I met Capital Property Group and they said it would be perfect for Denman Prospect. That’s how it goes sometimes, you can create something and it doesn’t happen at the time and then 10 years later, it finds a home.”
The British-born artist, who’s amassed more than 250 million video views of his pioneering tulle sculptures, said it wasn’t the first time one of his Canberra projects didn’t eventuate.
In 2008, Benjamin entered Canberra’s $1 million “major centenary artwork” competition, which was to grace the intersection of London Circuit and Northbourne Avenue. The competition was scrapped and Benjamin’s proposal never saw the light of day.
Here we have an internationally-renowned artist, who’s exhibited at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design and the London Design Museum, missing out on several major opportunities in Canberra.
His only two public art commissions in Canberra have been privately funded: Everchange for Canberra’s wealthiest family, the Snow family, and The Dance in 2015 for the Canberra Centre.
Next on Benjamin’s wish-list is to design an artwork for Canberra International Airport, which is owned by the Snow family.
“I’m hopeful I’ll do a few more [public artworks] here,” he said. “I’d love to do something special at the airport, I’ve often thought my tulle work would work well with the light floaty association to air and flight. Creating artworks for public spaces is always interesting as specific spaces often inform unexpected ideas.”
Although Benjamin’s background is in fashion (he was listed as one of the 500 people shaping the fashion industry by The Business of Fashion), he draws inspiration from our “bush capital”. His favourite daily bushwalk is Isaacs Ridge.
Interestingly, Benjamin doesn’t call himself an artist.
“I think that’s really how I think of myself, as an inventor,” he said. “I’ve done stuff that’s gone down the children’s toy route, it’s gone down the furniture route. I never called myself an artist but you just get called it in the end. If you put work out there and the media picks it up, they’ve got to call you something.”
As for his previous high-profile collaborations with Google, MTV and Coca-Cola, Benjamin said he doesn’t pursue famous clients.
“These things have just come, they just happened,” he said. “I’ve never got a high-profile job that I’ve proactively knocked on the door to ask for…. All you can do is put good work out there and hope it hits the chord somewhere.”
Benjamin Shine’s artwork can be viewed at benjaminshine.com and Instagram @benjaminshinestudio.
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