British tulle artist Benjamin Shine launches New York exhibit

Artist Benjamin Shine hopes the launch of a new installation featuring his signature tulle fabrics in a New York department store window display at Bergdorf Goodman will inspire passersby to pause and self-reflect.

The exhibition, titled "Seeing Through The Material," consists of five individual installations, each created by manipulating a single length of tulle - a lightweight, fine, silk-like fabric - and exploring ideas of invisibility, solidity and flux.

"I love making anything out of one piece," Shine said in a recent interview at his studio in Chelsea.

"Tulle was one of those fabrics that was always just floating about - literally floating about in my studio," he said.
The British designer, who uses the material to create colorful ethereal portraits, landscapes and more, says the exhibit also questions the relationship between the superficial and spiritual.

Shine, who studied fashion design at Central Saint Martins in London and has worked with fashion houses including John Galliano and Givenchy, said he spends roughly 50 to 100 hours working on each piece of his art.

"People are actually taking the time to look at the work and see it as art more than just a window display of some sort," Shine said, adding the hard work has paid off as he had hoped it would.

"That's been really lovely."

The exhibition is currently on display until Aug. 3.