CÉCILE PLAISANCE

Plaisance’s tribute to Barbie goes beyond the icon of fashion and beauty that has shaped adolescent perceptions of femininity since its inception in 1945. As a young girl who loved all things beautiful, the artist began her homage by staging photographs of the classic playmate at a young age. While her photographs do serve as a reminder of the innocence of childhood, they also depict a necessary criticism of the expectations of femininity Barbie created for everyday women. The unrealistically thin, ageless, white doll perpetuated the myth of woman as object, and Plaisance’s photographs provide a healthy dose of reality when confronted with these real-life expectations. As humans,we are fundamentally imperfect. As dolls, Barbie is nothing more than the plastic she is made from.

Plaisance left the masculine environment of finance to pursue photography full-time in 2009. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and art fairs worldwide including Art Miami, Art Cologne, Art Toronto, Scope Miami and Art Basel, Hong Kong.