Perversion Idols of Zofia de Ines

What is costume for – in theatre, art and life? Starting from the work of costume designer Zofia de Ines and the Teatr Ekspresji of Wojciech Misiura, the Theatre Department invites a conversation about the body, identity and expression.

The Theatre Department was founded in 1976 on the initiative of stage designers who wanted a place to gather their work. It is one of several institutions in Poland documenting the history of Polish theatre and the only theatre department at the National Museum. It collects objects that allow the ephemeral theatrical work to be reconstructed – set and costume designs, models, theatre programmes, posters, playbills, photographs, as well as costumes and puppets. To date the department has realised more than 60 exhibitions devoted, among others, to outstanding figures of Polish theatre such as Konrad Swinarski, Marian Kołodziej and Andrzej Wajda, as well as to distinguished artists associated with theatre in Pomerania – Alem Bunsch, Jadwiga Pożakowska and Tadeusz Link.

Continuing these traditions, for the 50th anniversary the curators from the Theatre Department – Wiktoria Formella and Kacper Nadolski, together with stage designer Przemysław Klonowski – have prepared an exhibition on crossdressing in theatre and art, inspired by the work of stage designer Zofia de Ines and the Teatr Ekspresji of Wojciech Misiura. It is a confrontation between Zofia de Ines's costumes and works by contemporary artists representing different approaches to corporeality, drag and self-creation. By looking at camp and queer art that deals with the body and its ideals, the exhibition invites reflection on the social and artistic role of costume.

Zofia de Ines's career as a costume designer began a year before the Theatre Department was founded, and her debut was the costumes for Tadeusz Różewicz's "Białe małżeństwo" directed by Kazimierz Braun at the Contemporary Theatre in Wrocław. Even then the characteristic refinement and richness of form that marked Zofia de Ines's work was evident. Drawing on fashion and the history of dress, she created her own interpretations of characters, using both styling and the deconstruction of cuts. In 1991, with the Teatr Ekspresji founded in Gdańsk by choreographer and dancer Wojciech Misiura, she created the production "Idole perwersji" – a stage spectacle positioned between a theatre performance and a performative fashion show.

– Misiura chose men of athletic, well-trained physiques for his theatre, corresponding to the ancient canon of beauty preserved in classical Greek sculpture. Their muscularity came alive on stage, and their almost nude, perfect bodies built the cult of physicality characteristic of the Teatr Ekspresji – says curator Kacper Nadolski. – For "Idole perwersji" de Ines's old costumes were taken out of storage and stripped of their original context. By putting them on, the actors of the Teatr Ekspresji did not play former roles; on the contrary, they gave the costumes new meanings. In many scenes men appeared in women's clothing and women in men's. Crossdressing was not meant as provocation, but as an opening of discussion about gender stereotypes. The production exploited the corporeality of the actors in the typical manner of the Teatr Ekspresji, subjecting it to grotesque eroticisation. Dancers' bodies, through the costumes, became objects of desire on stage, and their individual creations were aimed at gender transgression. The collaboration of Misiura and de Ines opened an interesting chapter in theatre history, marking a new path for exposing the body and giving costume the function of creating new meanings.

"Idole perwersji" earned the recognition of audiences and critics, thanks to which they were presented throughout Poland. Selected fragments of the production were staged as performative actions that enlivened contemporary artistic events, such as the "Bal na gruzach" – the first ball in history at the Sfinks in Sopot in 1991.

In addition to Zofia de Ines's costumes, the exhibition will include works by contemporary artists from the collection of the National Museum in Gdańsk and from outside it. Alongside photographs by Ewa Grabowska, Stefan Okołowicz, Marek Gardulski and Wojciech…