After having organised a retrospective exhibition in 2019, consisting mainly of iconic photographs, Polka wishes to pay tribute once again to this talented humanist who - like her male peers, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau or Willy Ronis - was a great visual witness to French society in the second half of the 20th century, to its roots, its history and geography, its trajectories, its actors and its fractures.

Contraception, equal pay, parity, daily life... The struggles for women's rights have considerably nourished her work and her research. On this subject, she writes: "When men photograph women, what fascinates them are their bodies, their beauty and, for some time now, even their ugliness, that is fashion; in short, always women-objects. I photograph women in their complete trajectory, from childhood to old age and in all walks of life."

The exhibition "Au bonheur des dames" pays homage to those whose elegance she has sublimated by exploring the world of fashion and its transformations. The artist's curious eye focuses on those who, in the workshops, on the front of the stage or behind the scenes, have made the pride of the greatest fashion houses and contributed to their influence throughout the world. Dior, Guerlain, Chanel, Lanvin. At the heart of the "Trente Glorieuses", the locked doors of the workshops on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and the Champs-Elysées were opened for a moment. The privilege of photographers, she wrote, "is to be able to go through doors". And so we find her where the magic happens, far from the public eye. "In winter, the elegant women wore fur coats that were worked and cut so differently that you could recognize the designer's claws. In summer, printed dresses in Lyon silk with rare colour harmonies, impeccably made-up faces, protected by floral capelines, brightened up this grey or blue city after sunset. Fragrance trails accompanied the beautiful passers-by. Chanel's N°5 or Guerlain's Chant d'Arômes. It was fun to recognize them. The proportions, the balance, the refinement, the purity of the lines of the French creations embodied a rare harmony for me. For one summer, Polka pays tribute to Janine Niépce through a selection of 23 images, including unpublished vintage prints and unique large formats, made during the artist's lifetime. A unique opportunity to enter the memories and the backstage of one of the universes she crossed with an incredible elegance.