David K. Shields is a photographer who has returned to New Zealand to live and work after 3 decades travelling the world. Currently translating his previous careers’ self-taught success in the creative worlds of fashion photography and portraiture to an art practice, he is building on his reputation as one of New Zealand’s most successful fashion photographers. He has recently completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at Elam, University of Auckland, gaining First Class Honours for Traverse – Narrating Identity Within Queer Spaces. This has since been exhibited in the public domain at the George Fraser Gallery in Auckland’s CBD.

His journey with this kaupapa has just begun, and his intention is to continue growing Traverse by travelling it to regional areas of Aotearoa to help expand the current narratives regarding identity, sexuality, gender and diversity.

Historically, David has been included in many global arts concerns, including The Fashion World of Jean-Paul Gaultier: From the sidewalk to the Catwalk (2013) alongside artists such as Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, David LaChapelle, Herb Ritts, Cindy Sherman, and Stephane Sednaoui. He had works in Anything Could Happen (2017) in Yu Yuan Gardens Heritage Gallery in Shanghai, China,  a cultural project between sister city councils Shanghai and Dunedin, and Social Fabric Earth Return (2021)  a book of images and narrative collected from a worldwide travelling art installation published by Claudia Hill in Berlin, Germany. Recently David’s work was selected for exhibition at the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes symposium 2023  at Otago Tūhuru Museum. The work KŌTUI was a collaborative digital work with Kiri & Jason Nathan. He was also selected as a finalist in the National Contemporary Arts Award 2022, had his work included in Depot’s (Devonport, NZ) Auckland Festival of Photography 2023 show Wrung & Misshapen, and has been included over the years in group shows in locations ranging from Chile to Australia and Aotearoa NZ. He has also had work purchased for public and private collections incl. The Rannoch Arts Trust, the BNZ and for John Singleton in Australia.

Having worked for many of the top magazines worldwide, including Vogue Homme International (Fr and Jp), French Vogue, Crash (Fr), Dazed and Confused (UK and Australia), Japanese GQ  and Commons & Sense (Jp), German GQ and GQ Style, Russian Tatler, Italian Marie Claire, and Black Magazine (NZ), Shields has fashioned an impressive resume of Portraits commissioned for these titles and other undertakings, including HRH King Charles, Vivienne Westwood, Valentino Garavani, Chloe Sevigny, Channing Tatum, …and the list goes on. This has focussed his photographic practise on the avenue he most enjoys, that of meeting and collaborating with those that inspire with their individual stories and personhood, to create and capture imagery which displays the essence of themselves.

The pursuit of the best image has long been primarily in mind, and his move towards the field of Fine Arts has been a journey of progression that continues day by day, and from one interaction to the next.

“I look for Character and Energy that inspires me, the ability of a subject to show me that spontaneous moment that no-one can predict, and thrive within the freedom of boundaries this approach allows me…”