BODIES OF WORK
Paper Dolls
Paper Dolls
In 2004, Ratcliff explored the world of paper dolls in a series of mixed media works. Many a child honed their fine motor skills cutting out these figures and fancy clothes. Fantasies were activated by dreaming about them: Who were they? Where did they live? Where were they going?
“By choosing paper doll fashions from the 1940s,” the artist says, “I explored my own childhood. I was very lucky. My mother made all my clothes. This taught me how to combine pattern, fabric, lace, buttons to construct a dress that was actually a 3-dimensional object – a wearable sculpture.”
Her fascination with fashion comes out in this work. Combining paper dolls with paper, fabric, paint, graphite, colored pencil and image transfer of her own photographs, she constructed compositions that were often surreal. The work speaks of beauty, women’s power and how we borrow from animals – fur, feathers, skin – to enhance our own allure.
Take Back Your Mink, 2004 :: acrylic, prismacolor, pastel, transfer & graphite on paper 53 x 42 in.
Shall We Dance? 2003 :: acrylic, watercolor, prismacolor & transfer on paper 42 x 53 in.
Head in the Sand, 2004 :: acrylic, prismacolor, graphite, and oil pastel on paper 42 x 53 in.
Diane de Poitiers, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on lace and paper collage (24 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.)
Venus on High, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on acetate and paper collage 20 1/2 x 18 in.
Topeka to Paris, 2004 :: acrylic, xerox, pastel, and appliqué on paper 19 x 16 in.
At the Lodge, 2004 :: acrylic, xerox, & pastel on cork and paper 21 x 18 1/2 in.
Nautical Fashions, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on acetate and paper collage 19 3/4 x 18 1/4 in.
Wasp-Waisted Goddesses, 2004 :: acrylic and xerox on acetate and paper collage 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.
Mink Hats, 2004 :: xerography on paper (4 x 6 in.) In the Land of Paper Dolls, clothes are faceless until they are united with their paper person. Mink Hats depicts one so united, and another still divided.
Mirror Image, 2004 :: acrylic, xerox & paper collage 9 1/2 x 13 in.
Tondo I: Bamboo, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on acetate and prismacolor on wallpaper (15 1/2 diameter x 2 1/4 in.)
Tondo II: Imperial, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on acetate on wallpaper (15 1/2 diameter x 1 1/2 in.)
Tondo III: Cigarettes, 2004 :: acrylic & xerox on acetate and wallpaper (15 1/2 diameter x 1 1/2 in.)