BIO

“Embodying classical aesthetic, music and culture, Benjamin Skepper is a musician with an extraordinary sense of the contemporary” (M. Pugliese, Director Museo 900 for Rolling Stone Italy).

A child prodigy, who commenced his classical music education at two years of age, Benjamin began touring at seven years old as a solo pianist, boy soprano, ballet dancer and the youngest self-taught harpsichordist in Australia. He embarked on his first international solo piano tour at 10 years old, performing a Mozart concerto with full orchestra in New Zealand. His passion for music continued with studies in the violoncello, and he toured and performed with symphonic and chamber orchestras nationwide.

Alongside his two decade long professional classical career, Benjamin also completed an Arts/Law degree with Honours at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Public and International Law and Human Rights, specfically focusing on Children’s Rights. He has since been actively involved in human rights and children’s policy, working and travelling extensively in Asia and Europe, volunteering with NGOs in Cambodia and donating his work to organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières and The Red Cross Japan. Benjamin moved to Tokyo in 2007 as a litigation and dispute resolution solicitor with an international law firm. All the while, he continued to explore music, contemporary composition, performance and multi media art forms.

Establishing his second base in Tokyo under the umbrella of his creative production think-tank “contrapuntal”, his arts practice encompasses commissions, multi media installations and live performances, composition, recording, and production across multiple genres, juggling independent creative practice with commercial outcomes for corporate clients, record labels, and film makers.

Benjamin has also worked extensively with the fashion industry, presenting at Milan, Paris, Tokyo and Melbourne Fashion Weeks as a performer, creative director and muse.

In 2008, Benjamin launched his independent record label under contrapuntal, releasing five self-produced solo albums, and collaborating with world famous record labels, such as Colombia Music and Ninja Tunes. Notably, he participated in a sound-art exhibition in Tokyo with Yoko Ono on the back of artist features for Rolling Stone Italy and Russia, AMICA Italy, GQ Japan and a recent music video exclusive with VICE I THUMP Australia.

In expanding his practice into the field of contemporary art, he has presented performance art works and sound installations at the Museo del Novecento (Milan), “Culture Warriors”, Australia’s first Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra), as artist-in-residence at “No Mans Land” (French Embassy, Tokyo), “Sight & Sound: Music & Abstraction in Australian Art” at the Arts Centre (Melbourne), “Rooms”, Japan’s premier International Fashion and Design Fair (Tokyo), “Art After Dark” for the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition Napoleon: Revolution to Empire (Melbourne), and as a headline artist at MONA FOMA 2013, dubbed a festival highlight by curator Brian Ritchie. Most recently by invitation from The Hermitage Foundation, Benjamin performed for the parallel program opening of Manifesta 10, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Complementing his arts practice Benjamin also works in cultural advocacy. As a Cultural Ambassador to Russia, his first posting was with the City of Melbourne, with a mandate to report on the Saint Petersburg arts and cultural scene, and identify possible collaborations and international exchange opportunities. Since published by the Saint Petersburg City Counil, Benjamin is working with the Australian Ambassador to Russia, to co-develop an artist in residency program, as the first artist in residence in Australian history at the Ambassadors residence in Moscow. The State Conservatory of Music in Saint Petersburg has also offered Benjamin a Creative Fellowship for his ambitious contemporary composition projects.

At the core of his practice, Benjamin is committed to self initiating projects and world travel in order to explore interdisciplinary collaborations in sound, architecture, science, fashion and art, and using these projects to promote global diplomacy. 2015 started with a Space Art commission “Forever Now”, where his audio artwork was transmitted into outer space at MONA FOMA, a sequel to the 1977 NASA Voyager Golden Records mission. This is followed by his next sound art exhibition in Chelsea, New York.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

RACHEL SKEPPER MILLINERY COLLECTION "AUSTRALIA" FW14 at WHITE MILANO, MILAN FASHION WEEK 2014

RACHEL SKEPPER

FW’14 MILLINERY COLLECTION 

‘AUSTRALIA’
featured at
MILANO
 Milan Fashion Week 2014


FOR DIRECT ORDERS OR DISTRIBUTION 
contact: rachelskepper@gmail.com



THE COLLECTION


RACHEL SKEPPER                     
FW’14 MILLINERY COLLECTION
‘AUSTRALIA’
Featured at WHITE MILANO, Milan Fashion Week 2014.

 Inspired by the Australian landscape and ‘outback’, the millinery collection furthermore references traditional and historical Australian headwear.

Designed in Australia, each hat is individually hand crafted by artisans in Japan, using the highest-grade materials sourced both locally and throughout Europe.

The concept behind each design in the collection imparts a story, reflecting the designer’s creative vision and interpretation of Australia, unveiling her inimitable approach to design.



THE COLLECTION
Inspired by the Australian landscape and ‘outback’, the collection furthermore references traditional and historical Australian headwear.

RS 1
The concept behind the avant-garde design draws inspiration from the natural formations and contoured landforms in the desert and coastline of Australia.
Crafted with a broad brim, the design brings an element of couture to the collection being structured entirely by hand from start to finish.

RS 2/3
The open incision in the peak is inspired by the cracked and arid landscape of the Australian desert and emulates a distressed appearance from being handled over time.

RS 4
The simplicity of the design references the Australian style fedora hat, and forms the classic shape of the collection.

RS 5
Inspired by the ‘brumbies’ (wild horses) of Australia, the design signifies the headwear worn by the drovers, furthermore depicted by the cavalry hat cord.

RS 6
The design is strongly influenced by Australian military hats worn by the soldiers during the occupation of World War I & II.
The punctured holes, which were often stamped on the crown of hats for the purpose of ventilation, feature the designer’s initials ‘RS’.

The gold symbol adorned on numerous designs throughout the collection not only represents the designer’s logo, but also draws reference to the strong presence of the sun overlooking the Australian landscape.

The collection is unisex, excepting one design, and is available in five shades: Midnight Blue, Black Charcoal, Pearl, Burgundy Uluru and Moss Green.

Designed in Australia, each hat is individually hand crafted by artisans in Japan, using the highest-grade materials sourced both locally and throughout Europe.




SPECIAL FEATURE INSTALLATION 
created for A.I Artisinal Intelligence 
curated by Clara Tosi Pamphili (Alta Roma)
sound design by Benjamin Skepper




from left to right:  RS 2 and 3

from left to right:  RS 5 and 4

from left to right:  RS 1 and 6








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