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Tulle is that lightweight, very fine netting, commonly used for veils, wedding gowns and ballet tutus. British artist Benjamin Shine takes that tulle and proceeds to pleat, iron, and manipulate it into hauntingly realistic portraits that looks like photographs. By carefully folding and pleating the material in strategic places, Shine manages to create the lights, shadows, and tones needed to build the portrait. He then irons over it to keep them in place.
London-born designer and artist Benjamin Shine has always had a prodigious talent. At 13 he won an art scholarship to Cheltenham College. At 15, he designed his own shirt and the company under which he was working under work experience placement put it in its range. After studying art and fashion at Surrey Institute of Art and Central St Martins, he won the Enterprising Young Brit award in 2004 for his innovative Skoody - a bag/ scarf/jacket combination. In 2003 he set up his creative studio, where materials, techniques and constructional ideas continue to inform his diverse portfolio and multidisciplinary approach.
