Wifebeater Washer Unplugged, 2019, Insulation foam, caulk, acrylic, vinyl tubing, wire, “wifebeaters”, 165 x 137 x 40 cm

Wifebeater Washer Unplugged is a high-relief painted sculpture of an anthropomorphic woman whose washing-machine body spills real “wifebeater” tank tops, while her exaggerated blue ombré legs adorned with caulk-coated wire hairs and tiny red stilettos jut proudly from the wall.

The term “wifebeaters” for sleeveless white undershirts became popular after the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, whose violent protagonist Stanley Kowalski wore one, linking the garment to domestic abuse.

The figure is “unplugged” both literally, via an oversized electric plug extending from her side, and metaphorically, evoking post-war advertising that sexualized appliances and equated women with hardworking mechanical spouses (e.g., Frigidaire’s 1962 slogan, “a good washer is like a good man”).

Rendered with a playful, cake-like texture, the work captures a moment of liberation and bodily autonomy, symbolizing her rejection of coercive, gendered domestic labor.