In this site-specific work by artist collective Body of Work, cis-female, trans and nonbinary performers enact durational domestic tasks to generate electricity. Feminised care through housework is recast as material that charges up power in the space. Making visible the labour of the White Bay Power Station’s employees’ wives, the performance also comments on the NSW ‘marriage bar’ that prevented married women from working in public service until 1966. Through domestic-inspired durational performance acts, Workers’ Wives draws attention to ongoing permutations of gender inequality in Australia today, while reauthoring the legacy of the White Bay Power Station through a queer feminist lens.
Image: Body of Work 2026. Photography: Daniel Boud.
