Cecile Plaisance

After spending ten years working in the European financial markets and, later, in the media (IT), I decided to do what I had always wanted to do, namely photography. My pictures are informed by simple questions, ranging from the difficulty of being a woman to the tyranny of religions, and to the need to enjoy and beautify our lives, as well as a thousand other subjects that I take pleasure in mulling over every day. In my photography, I use universal emblems like Barbie, as well as icons of the cinema and the catwalk. They are inexhaustible sources of inspiration and reflection, generating ideas that I like to play. Behind symbols, there is the force of appearance, personal exigency, a dream communicated, the factory of the world. I admire women as much as I love men. My work is not a struggle, nor is it part of a war between the sexes. It is an ode to femininity. And to love. It is an expression of the need to find a balance between the male and the female. We are “complements of the soul”, each as valuable as the other. I want every woman to recognize herself in my photos. Beliefs and religions play no role in this. In my view, we all tell “Sweet Little Lies” (the title of my latest book, published by CDP Edition in April 2018). Not only secrets but also forbidden, clandestine pleasures and mysteries are all part of desire, seduction, encounters, and life itself. I take nourishment from everything. My influences are widespread and numerous. Books, the work of artists, articles, studies. The magnetic ultra-sensuality of Helmut Newton moves me. Certain photos by Oliviero Toscani have helped me to be daring. Ellen von Unwerth, Bettina Rheims, David Lachapelle and Pierre & Gilles also provided encouragement when I decided to launch my photographic career. I want to be accessible and for my work to contain just a little humour and beauty. I mistrust what is incomprehensible, esoteric and cabalistic, and, from a general viewpoint, those artistes maudits who hide their lack of inspiration behind a vague set of ideas. Today, I am represented around the world (Paris, New York, Miami, London, Geneva, Los Angeles, Dubai, Hong Kong, etc.) by various galleries. My photos are displayed in private and corporate collections, as well as in museums. Naturally, I’m very happy about this.