Tyler Shields: Duality

Considered "the Andy Warhol of his generation" by some, Tyler Shields uses his expert photography skills to capture images that are both glamorous and provocative. Contrast is a reoccurring theme in many of his collections, including Provocateur, The Dirty Side of Glamour, and Historical Fiction. 

 

 

In one of his most famous pieces, Gator Birkin III, Shields captures a tug of war between a model and a crocodile over a Birkin. Shields uses the notorious price tag on Birkin bags as a symbol of absurd opulence. Animals, especially predators, frequent his photographs. In The Lion Queen, a model is posed in a full-length gown feeding a lion like a common house cat. Shields excels at blurring the line between luxury and savagery.

 

On a more subtle note, Pointe shows the slipper-clad foot of a ballerina next to the battered and bruised tissue that gets hidden underneath. The silk shoe the dancer wears invokes the classic image of a neat and elegant ballerina. With the bare foot, Shields shows the visceral image of the ballerina's wounds and the unnatural contortion the foot must be in for pointe technique. Pointe encapsulates the opposing nature of ballet - its graceful, feminine image and the brute athleticism it takes to achieve it.

 

The exhibition will allow the viewer to experience the beauty in unexpected sources, including dirt, bruises, and insects. While objects that are considered the pique of design and glamour are stripped down into mere backdrops and accessories. The contrast makes for an unexpected, yet satisfying collection.