Portrait fit for a prince

HSH Prince Albert is all smiles as he sees his portrait by British artist Benjamin Shine, right, for the first time

When the bank asked 30-year-old Benjamin Shine to create the portrait for the foyer they knew they would get something a bit different: previously, Shine has depicted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher using iron, painter Rembrandt with a single piece of tulle and mountaineer Edmund Hillary using steel and aluminum.

At the beginning of this year, his portrait of Barack Obama, made out of a ripped up US flag, was exhibited in New York's Museum of Art and Design. Changing States went on to be adopted by bookstore chain Barnes and Noble and became world famous.

It’s a material world

"I try to use materials that relate to the subject," the artist explains, "but with the Prince's portrait there wasn't anything as obvious as the Stars and Stripes."

Shine, whose father has been living in Monaco for 20 years, researched the Principality’s culture and industry, but didn’t hit on anything distinctly Monegasque. Then he looked at the Prince: "His passion for the environment immediately struck me and I decided to use recycled products."

Wanting to show people what could be done, Shine was immediately excited about the challenge. He enlisted the help of students at the Monaco International School, who collected over a 1,000 plastic bottles in ten days. These were compacted, granulated and manufactured into a board.

With the background in place, the Prince's outline was next. For his features, shredded polythene bags from local Monegasque businesses were thread through metal loops.

Offshoots of a project

Working on the piece for over a 100 hours in his studio in Canberra, Australia (where he now lives), the artist had never met his subject before the inauguration of the Barclays Wealth building in October.

"I was a little apprehensive at the unveiling," Shine confesses, "but fortunately the portrait got a good response. Prince Albert said he loved it and we talked about recycling initiatives and ecological issues."

Overall the project has been a great success. Not only does the portrait have the Prince’s approval but the importance of recycling has been highlighted and community and business have come together in the name of the environment. "Seeing how much the children are into their recycling was brilliant," Shine smiles, "it's second nature for them." Looking at the bigger picture then, the kids are our hope for the future.

HM