Melusine is a fantastic figure – a mermaid, a water nymph – a symbol of all that is mysterious and unusual; an embodiment of seductive femininity, as in Małgorzata Ostrowska’s song from the ‘The Travels of Mr. Kleks’ directed by Krzysztof Gradowski – a famous Polish film from 1986.

The titled characters of the exhibition ‘MELUSINES FROM THE BLOCKS. Fashion and Pop in the 1980s’ are famous Polish pop singers of the 1980s decade: Kora, Majka Jeżowska, Anna Jurksztowicz, Wanda Kwietniewska, Małgorzata Ostrowska, and Izabela Trojanowska.

‘Their careers exploded in times of greyness’ – says Karolina Sulej. ‘In everyday life of communistic PRL (Polish People’s Republic) they seem to appear as quasi inhabitants of a parallel, fairy reality, where colours are more saturated, and the laws of socialist physics are being paused. They’re famous – they show up on album covers and on the front pages of newspapers, they perform in music videos and at concerts. Their look is equally important as their songs’ lyrics. Their style is distinctive, and each of them creates her stage personality differently. 

Majka Jeżowska goes for striking colours, tulle skirts and fun. Kora is the avant-garde and the black of the new wave, a black line on the eye or sunglasses, a boyish buzz cut. Małgorzata Ostrowska prefers tight-fitting leather jumpsuits; she wears a blonde, rocker bob and heavy make-up. Classical beauty Izabela Trojanowska likes to dress like a dandy, wearing shirts, ties and tailored suits. Anna Jurksztowicz teases her voluminous hair and opts for elegance – suit jackets, puff-sleeved dresses, statement jewellery. Wanda Kwietniewska wears trainers and leggings with nonchalantly oversized jackets, and her dark hair waves as she dances.

In Poland’s austere climate – meteorological, fashion-wise and ideological – they are splashes of colour, disco balls against a gloomy horizon, the queens of the dance floor. They showcase the full spectrum of feminine incarnations, poses and styles, as if to say: You too can be whoever you want to be; don’t blend into the crowd,’ adds the curator.

The exhibition will tell the story of six iconic Polish female singers who are full of character, strong and emancipated. They are women-phenomena, politically subversive by the very fact of their public existence. Observing how they crafted their pop personas, and delving behind the scenes of their stage images offers a view of the 1980s through the prism of what is (wrongly) regarded as historical didascalia – through the lens of lifestyle.

As Karolina Sulej points out: ‘The female singers of that period embodied a story about the country approaching the transition era, half (soc)realistic, half immersed in visions of the capitalism of the future. Poland at that time was a hybrid, much like Melusine.’

The ‘MELUSINES FROM THE BLOCKS. Fashion and Pop in the 1980s’ exhibited in DSH has been organised in collaboration with the Museum of Polish Song in Opole. The showcase can be viewed from 8 October 2026 to 21 February 2027 at the DSH gallery (20 Karowa Street, Warsaw).

Admission to the exhibition is free. We also welcome you to come to the DSH with your four-legged friends.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by DSH:
catalogue graphic design: Kasper Skirgajłło-Krajewski,annakasper.pl
texts: Karolina Sulej
photo selection: Beata Łyżwa-Sokół
illustrated portraits of the artists: Barbara Niewiadomska
managing editor: Małgorzata Purzyńska
editors: Agnieszka Mazurczyk, Małgorzata Purzyńska
translation: Aleksandra Szymczyk
proofreading: Anna Kaniewska (Polish), Christopher Smith (English)
catalogue production: Magdalena Stefańczyk
pre-press: Tomasz Kubaczyk, Paweł Bajer

© Dom Spotkań z Historią
Warsaw 2026
1st edition
ISBN 978-83-66068-66-7

MELUSINES FROM THE BLOCKS

heroines: Kora, Majka Jeżowska, Anna Jurksztowicz, Wanda Kwietniewska, Małgorzata Ostrowska, Izabela Trojanowska
curator: Karolina Sulej
exhibition design: Anna Rzeźnik, Kasper Skirgajłło-Krajewski (Exhibition Design)
exhibition visual identity design: Barbara Niewiadomska
exhibition producer: Beata Łyżwa-Sokół
family guide compiled by: Magdalena Kreis, Magda Szymańska (editing and proofreading)
exhibition promotion: Zuzanna Figiel, Marianna Januszewicz, Marta Rogowska, Nadzieja Rudzka, Kaja Stępkowska