Antoinette Ratcliffe completed her Master of Arts at The School of Media Arts (Wintec) in 2011. She began learning taxidermy in 2015, and introduced the media into her artwork the following year.

Antoinette's practice explores anthropomorphic association using a variety of media, including her own taxidermy, where the animals find themselves in relationships created out of circumstance. She only uses ethically sourced animals for her taxidermy pieces, installations, and photographs.

​The concepts of memento mori continue to influence her current body of work, giving the pieces an awareness of a quiet and sometimes sinister suspense, while maintaining a whimsical aesthetic.

Antoinette has attended workshops taken by World Taxidermy Championship award winners Mike Orthober, Dale Manning, and Wendy Christensen. She trained with Peter Wells of Wildmount Taxidermy in 2018, and Allis Markham of Prey Taxidermy in 2021. She is also a member of the Australasian Institute of Anatomical Sciences, The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, and Forest & Bird.

She has taxidermy pieces in collections held by Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, North Otago Museum, NZ Bird Society, Wētā, Predator Free Wellington, The Capital Kiwi Project, Upper Hutt Predator Free Trust, Owhango Alive, Northland Regional Council, Ruahine Kiwi, Whangarei Regional Council,  and in private collections around the world. Her pieces are also available at Brown & Co Wellington and Flora Fauna Queenstown.

If you would like to know more about ethical taxidermy, Antoinette's  TEDxPipitea talk 'What's so ethical about ethical taxidermy' is available here.  For updates on what Antoinette has been up to in the studio, or to hear about her upcoming events, join the mailing list here.