Decadence by Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields all new body of work exclusively for Guy Hepner. This series “Decadence” is the latest series by Tyler Shields. Set in the court of Marie Antoinette, the series was shot in the summer of 2015 and was shot using a 50 year old 8 by 10 camera as well as various Hasselblad cameras. After their marriage, Louis XVI entrusted Marie with the task of entertaining the court. Decadence is set in Tuileries Palace in 1667 and The Palace of Versailles 1672. Shields wanted to give my version of an inside look into what he imagined it would be like if you were able to take a photograph of The Court of The Palace of Versailles and Tuileries Palace an intimate look inside one of the most fascinating times in history.

Tyler Shields is a photographer, film director, and writer, best known for his unique, controversial, shock evoking captures of Hollywood celebrities. In addition to his Fine Art photographs, he has shot campaigns for brands like Nike, Adidas, Playboy, Harley Davidson, and Gergé Swiss watches, among others. In 2014, the publishing of Tyler Shields book, including Smartest Man and The Dirty Side of Glamour, the completion of his first feature-length film,Final Girl, became huge successes.

Shields was born in Jacksonville, Florida where he grew up to become a professional inline skater, he competed in the X Games in ’99 and 2000, even touring with Tony Hawk in 2003. However, this athlete wanted to do more so at 18, he moved to LA.

Always having an interest in photography he began uploading images and videos. “I took a picture of a closet that became really famous on the internet back in the days when MySpace first started. A girlfriend cheated on me, so I took all her shit and I threw it out.” says Shields. An unknown advertising agency saw this picture, bought it off him and even commissioned him to shoot an ad campaign. Being in Hollywood and understanding the power of social media, not only were people buying his photos but asking to have theirs taken.”..then the people who I was shooting weren’t famous but became famous. And famous people started wanting to shoot.” His photographer Las Angeles captures include some of the most over-the-top, brutal aspects of contemporary celebrity culture.

As we step into the disturbing world of Shields, we find his images with no other purpose other than to shock. In 2010 the star, Lindsey Lohan tweeted Tyler requesting to shoot, Tyler tended to the request. The result was blood splattered and seductive with a femme-fatale vampire Lindsey who held a butchers knife to her own throat and even portraits brandishing a gun. Along with these violent scenes, Shields collected blood from 20 celebrities to make a piece of art for his Life Is Not a Fairytale exhibit in Los Angeles. Shields also appeared to stage the “shooting” a party-goer with a gun that year at the release party for his book Collisions, as an appropriated piece of performance art en homage to the cans of Fluxus artist Piero Manzoni. More controversy arose in 2012 when Shields released a photograph of his girlfriend Francesca Eastwood burning, sawing, and biting a $100,000 Hermès Birkin Bag for a photoshoot. His controversial and violent images, and frequently drawing criticism from animal rights activists and women’s groups.