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Decadence: Shooting the wickedly indulgent court of Marie Antoinette

In his latest series Decadence, American photographer and visual artist Tyler Shields staged wicked scenes reimagined in the court of Marie Antoinette, shooting mainly with a 55-year-old 8x10 camera and a Hasselblad.

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Via direct submission. All images courtesy of Maddox Gallery,.

Via direct submission. All images courtesy of Maddox Gallery,.

A cast of young Hollywood actors and models take centre stage in this sumptuous new body of work, with Shields in playful form as he invites his new muses to recreate the decadence and self-indulgence at the heart of Versailles during the 1600s.

“After their marriage, Louis XVI entrusted Marie with the task of entertaining the court,” Shields writes. “Decadence is set in Tuileries Palace in 1667 and The Palace of Versailles 1672. I wanted to give my version of an inside look into what I imagine 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."

Themes of sex, death, flesh, obsession, nightmare and fantasy are frequent in Shields' work, used to explore the peculiarity of the human condition. Widely known for his controversial photographs of a blood-stained Lindsay Lohan, Shields went on to shoot equally contentious shots of Mischa Barton fondling raw meat. Shields has worked with a roster of ranking members of Hollywood people including Emma Roberts, Aaron Paul, Zachary Quinto, Demi Lovato, Juno Temple, Shiloh Fernandez and Lydia Hearst.

Shields collaborates with his subjects to produce bold, hard-hitting work which has seen him graduate from bad-boy photographer to artist, filmmaker and cultural commentator. He literally captures a new type of American life while exploring the fictional nature of the historical and the classic.

Decadence is presented in collaboration with Imitate Modern and opens at Maddox Gallery in London's Mayfair from 4th February – 24th February 2016. Discover more at Maddoxgallery.co.uk. Make sure you watch the 'behind the scenes' video below to hear from the man himself.

Figures in 18th-century dress and powdered wigs gather around a candlelit table laden with food and drink in a pastel-hued palace interior
Actors in elaborate Marie Antoinette-inspired costumes with powdered wigs and period dress gather in an opulent palace setting with terracotta velvet curtains, from Tyler Shields' Decadence series
Three figures in 18th-century costume with white powdered wigs in an ornate palace interior, with one reclining on the floor
Elaborately dressed figures in 18th-century costume seated around a table in an ornate palace room with blue and gold panelling, surrounded by white powder and theatrical props
Two figures with voluminous blonde wigs face each other in candlelit darkness, with glowing candelabra between them, evoking decadence at the court of Versailles
Person in pale silk gown standing on a beach with the sea behind them, gazing upward in a scene reimagining Marie Antoinette's court
A group of models in elaborate 18th-century pink and cream gowns with white wigs gather around a table in an ornately decorated palace room, sharing food and drink in a scene of theatrical opulence
A figure in cream-coloured 18th-century dress with an elaborate powdered wig reclines in a gilded chair against a panelled interior wall in Tyler Shields' Decadence series
A group of actors and models in elaborate period costumes and white wigs gather closely together in an ornate interior, recreating a scene from the court of Marie Antoinette
A figure in an elaborate blue gown with voluminous white hair holds a candelabra aloft in a dimly lit palace interior, evoking 18th-century French aristocratic decadence
Woman with white powdered hair in 18th-century dress holds two young children on a grassy clifftop overlooking the sea, with flowers scattered at their feet
Person in profile with voluminous white curled hair holding a deep red rose against a twilight seascape
A model poses against ornate cream and gold panelled walls wearing a blue lace corset and white stockings in Tyler Shields' Decadence series
Person in white wig and blue and gold period dress sits on dark reflective floor against turquoise and gold panelled palace wall
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