Zofia de Ines's Idols of Perversion

What is the purpose of costume – in theater, art, and life? Starting from the work of costume designer Zofia de Ines and Wojciech Misiura's Teatr Ekspresji, the Theater Department invites you to a discussion about body, identity, and expression.

The Theater Department was established in 1976 on the initiative of set designers who sought to create a place for their work. It is one of several institutions in Poland documenting the history of Polish theater and the only theater department at a National Museum. It collects objects that allow the reconstruction of ephemeral theatrical works – set designs, costume designs, models, theater programs, posters, playbills, photographs, as well as costumes and puppets. To date, the department has realized over 60 exhibitions dedicated to, among others, prominent figures of Polish theater such as Konrad Swinarski, Marian Kołodziej, and Andrzej Wajda, as well as deserving artists associated with theater in Pomerania – Alemu Bunschowi, Jadwidze Pożakowskiej, and Tadeuszowi Linkowi.

Continuing these traditions, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, curators from the Theater Department – Wiktoria Formella and Kacper Nadolski, in cooperation with set designer Przemysław Klonowski – prepared an exhibition inspired by the work of set designer Zofia de Ines and Wojciech Misiura's Teatr Ekspresji, dedicated to cross-dressing in theater and art. This is a confrontation of Zofia de Ines's costumes with works by contemporary artists representing different approaches to corporeality, drag, and self-creation. By looking at camp, queer art, and art dealing with the body and its ideals, the exhibition encourages reflection on the social and artistic role of costume.

Zofia de Ines's career as a costume designer began a year before the establishment of the Theater Department, and her debut realization was the costumes for Tadeusz Różewicz's "Białe małżeństwo" directed by Kazimierz Braun at Teatr Współczesny in Wrocław. Even then, Zofia de Ines's characteristic sophistication and richness of form were evident. Inspired by fashion and the history of clothing, she created her own interpretations of characters, using both styling and deconstruction of cuts. In 1991, with Teatr Ekspresji, founded in Gdańsk by choreographer and dancer Wojciech Misiura, she created the play "Idole perwersji" – a stage spectacle situated between a theatrical performance and a performative fashion show.

• Misiura chose men with athletic, well-built physiques corresponding to the ancient canon of beauty perpetuated in classical Greek sculpture for his theater. Their musculature came alive on stage, and their almost naked, perfect bodies built the cult of physicality characteristic of Teatr Ekspresji – says curator Kacper Nadolski. - For "Idole perwersji," de Ines's old costumes were brought out of storage and stripped of their original context. By putting them on, the actors of Teatr Ekspresji did not play old roles; on the contrary, they gave the costumes new meanings. In many scenes, men appeared in women's clothing, and women in men's. Cross-dressing was not intended to provoke but to open a discussion about gender stereotypes. The play, in a manner typical of Teatr Ekspresji, exploited the physicality of the actors and actresses, subjecting them to grotesque eroticization. The dancers' bodies, thanks to the costumes, became objects of desire on stage, and their individual creations were aimed at sexual transgression. The collaboration between Misiura and de Ines opened an interesting chapter in the history of theater, marking a new path for exhibiting the body and a new function for costume in creating new meanings.