Inspired by the iconic dress-up doll, ‘Project B’ wall art recognizes Barbie’s 60th birthday. She’s still young…and #what?
‘PROJECT B’ is a series of wall art in plexiglass. The protagonist is one of the most recognizable female personas of toy culture history: Barbie.
Jewellery art designer and visual artist Nicolette Bénard’s “PROJECT B” was inspired by the 60th birthday of the Barbie doll. Barbie may be 60 years old, but she looks younger than ever.
For Nicolette this embodies the theme of her work: “Ideal beauty or false idealism?” She poses the questions, “How do we perceive one another? How far will we go to change reality in regard to beauty and age? What are the consequences of our beauty and our appearance?” Barbie once claimed to be designed to ‘teach women’ what (for better or worse) is expected of them in society.
Barbie, is a doll with an idealistic female body shape, whom, with a simple change of outfit, becomes whatever the owner wants her to be. For Nicolette, Barbie represents an illusion, a fake reality that no real woman can follow. Or, perhaps we women choose not to comply. However, Barbie always complies. With a wink and a healthy dose of humour, Nicolette works on her Barbie’s and transforms them into… yes, into what exactly?
Nicolette Bénard, jewellery art designer, visual artist born in the Netherlands (1967) is a well-known and beloved designer. She has won several design prizes. Nicolette graduated from the Dutch technical professional school of Silver, Goldsmiths and Design based in Schoonhoven, the Netherlands.
Are you interested in more of Nicolette Bénard’s work?
Look at her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolettebenard/
or website: www.nicolettebenard.nl
Her designs can be admired at art exhibitions, galleries, museums and in private collections, like:
Adorable Art + Design, the Netherlands;
Galerie de Ploegh, the Netherlands;
The Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, The Hague the Netherlands.
