Introducing The Birkin Series at Imitate Modern gallery

Art is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but to American photographer Tyler Shields destroying a $100,000 luxury, leather handbag can be seen as an art form. Enter in socialite girlfriend, Francesca Eastwood (daughter of Clint Eastwood), photographed destroying a beautiful scarlet red crocodile Birkin handbag. Tyler Shields has since found himself in hot water as fans called his destruction of the $100,000 Hermes tote (in which he hit with a chainsaw and set on fire) “narcissistic” and “fraudulent,” thus making him “a horrible human being”. Even Vogue magazine joined in on the conversation warning “some readers may find these images distressing”.

In an interview with artinfo.com, Shields said: “The Birkin photos are for sale. If somebody were to buy…. all right, let’s do this. If somebody wants to buy one of the Birkin photos, I will donate $100,000 — not to a charity – but to a family. I will give one family in need $100,000 cash. I would select somebody who…. my father had a stroke when I was 15, and it became very difficult financially for the family, so I think I would do that. I think I would find a family that someone had a stroke or some type of ailment. I think that if somebody had done that for us when that happened to me, it would have been like a miracle. So, I’ll find somebody who that just happened to and I will help them out.”

Controversial maybe, but the stunning photographs are dominating the space at Imitate Modern, setting an entire wall on fire! We all love a little controversy so make sure you check out the photos while you still can.

Gillian Horsley
Photos: Courtesy of Imitate Modern

Imitate Modern is located at 27a Devonshire Street, London W1G 6PN. For more info follow the gallery on Facebook and Twitter.