Cécile Plaisance is a French photographer best known for her surreal, comic portraits of Mattel’s iconic Barbie Doll. Using a technique of lenticular developing, Plaisance superimposes images of Barbie in various stages of action or undress, which changes according to the position of the viewer.
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.