The performance “The Sculpturesess”, choreographed by Weronika Pelczyńska, Magda Fejdasz

Two choreographers, Weronika Pelczyńska and Magda Fejdasz, following the traces of pioneering 19th-century sculptors and the sisterhood that connected them, raise their own bodies on stage as a living tool of mutual creation. The performance publicly evokes the work of international, lesser-known artists, including Tola Certowicz, Camille Claudel, Hélène Bertaux, Antonina Rożniatowska, Maria Gerson-Dąbrowska, and Jadwiga Łubieńska – strong, emancipation-driven women whose work paved the way for future generations of female artists.

The performance invites audiences to experience sculpture through choreography. Based on dialogue and shared rhythm, the duo creates a supra-individual, embodied “statue” of intertwined bodies, blending agency and (in)dependence, power and partnership, gymnastics and eroticism. The Sculptresses’ is an ongoing attempt to articulate the social status of female relationships while transforming historical artistic heritage into a live, corporeal experience.

The project was commissioned by the National Museum in Warsaw as an accompanying event to the exhibition “Without a Corset: Camille Claudel and Polish 19th-Century Sculptors”, curated by Ewa Ziembińska. The premiere took place within the exhibition, and the performance continues a sisterly artistic practice in which the performers’ bodies become both medium and living sculpture, invoking the art and biographies of the sculptors.

Credits:

• Choreography: Weronika Pelczyńska, Magda Fejdasz
• Performance: Weronika Pelczyńska / Dana Chmielewska, Magda Fejdasz / Monika Szpunar
• Production: National Museum in Warsaw
• Technical realization: Marta Szymańska, Karolina Wróblewska-Leśniak
• Music: Natan Kryszk
• Recording: Aleksander Żurowski
• Costumes: Monika Nyckowska
• Dramaturgical consultation: Alicja Czyczel, Aleks Borys
• Collaboration: Centrum w Ruchu