Destruction as preservation: 'Indulge' in Tyler Shields’ new exhibit at the Bobby

A $15,000 Louis Vuitton chest engulfed in flames. Fashion editorial-inspired shots with graphic sexual undertones. Designer drugs.

All of the above describe photographs belonging to photographer, film director, writer and former professional vert inline skater Tyler Shields’ latest exhibition, “Indulgent,” in Nashville.

Shields is no stranger to controversy.

In May 2017, one of his photos, of comedian Kathy Griffin holding a gory decapitated sculpture resembling the head of President Donald Trump, went viral.

Now his outside-the-box ideas can be viewed at the Bobby Hotel.

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Downtown’s the Collection at Bobby has partnered with art gallery Tinney Contemporary, on Fifth Avenue of the Arts, to display a new quarterly exhibit. Nashville-based creatives and other household names have had their artwork featured for the series.

“The previous show was a large group show of about 14 artists from all over the country, spanning Los Angeles, New York, Miami and some local artists as well,” said Joshua Edward Bennett, gallery manager at Tinney Contemporary. “This time, we decided to do something drastically different.”

The result is a solo exhibition from Shields.

“Someone from the Bobby was a fan of mine, and they were working with Tinney,” Shields said, noting that he was offered the opportunity to collaborate and took it.

“Indulgent” doesn’t shy away from Shields’ tendency to comment on political topics or divisive social issues. In his own words, “Indulgent” is about destruction as preservation.

For example, "Cop Car on Fire" is a $10,000, 30-by-45-inch print whose subject is exactly what the piece is titled. The 30-by-40-inch "Python Birkin," which also sells for $10,000, shows a valuable snake print Birkin bag being squeezed by a python wrapped around it.

“I like the idea of making things bigger and bigger and bigger," Shields said. "That’s kind of the overarching experience."

Shields has worked on the "Indulgent" series for years. The process has been “wild,” he said, because as he evolved as a person and as an artist, so has the series and so did the collection.

“It’s organically grown, but the original ideas were always there,” he said.

Some of the concepts Shields explores were born eight or nine years ago. He remembered being invited to a collector’s house with a room full of Birkin bags, valued between $40,000 to $500,000. He had the opportunity to create a print with the Birkin at the center of it, so Shields thought to set it on fire and chainsaw the pricey accessory.

Setting high-end automobiles on fire is a recurring theme in Shields’ photographs, too. He has photographed a Rolls-Royce blowing up and expressed interest in replicating the process with a Lamborghini.

The first Rolls-Royce print purchase was in Nashville.

“There were a couple pieces I sold that were sold faster in Nashville,” Shields said. “I like to go to unique places. Nashville chose a lot of provocative art.”

The “Indulgent” opening drew a crowd of more than 500 people

“The feeling that they had about the images – they had a real passion for the artwork,” Shields said. “There was just always a real deep passion. Collectors here have multiple pieces. They really want to know the story and why. There’s a depth.”

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Shields exclusively uses film for photographs.

“What’s interesting about his work is that he only prints three of each size," Bennett said. "So in a way, it’s creating scarcity.”

Even so, “his prices are fairly democratic or accessible in a way.” Bennett said.

Prints called "Lace" and "Champagne High Heel," both 18-by-18 inches, are for sale for $2,500. A 30-by-30 inch-print titled "Chanel Acid" is available for $5,000.

The collaboration with the Collection at Bobby and Tinney Contemporary wasn’t restrictive, and boundaries were able to be pushed, Shields said.

"I get to make anything that I want," he said. "That’s not lost on me on how special that is.”

If you go

What: "Indulgent" by Tyler Shields

Where: The Collection At Bobby — Tinney Contemporary; 230 Fourth Ave.

When: Until Dec. 1

Tickets: Free; walk in during operating hours.

Information: thecollection@bobbyhotel.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Photographer Tyler Shields debuts new exhibit at the Bobby Hotel