Jobs for the Girls: State Library’s photography exhibition shows how WA women used clothing to push boundaries

Writers as far back as Homer in ancient Greek times have suggested “clothes maketh the man” but a new exhibition is putting the clothes of WA women over the past century front and centre. Women have used their wardrobes to express their identity and in some cases, how they represent a corporate identity rather than a personal one. Running at the State Library of Western Australia until June, Jobs for the Girls shows how WA women have used fashion, workwear and other clothes since 1912 to push boundaries and move the State forward, curator Rita Alfred-Saggar said. Photographic displays of historic clothing had focused on male industries, she said, but her exhibition — part of the Boorloo Heritage Festival and a celebration by the library of women’s contribution to the State — showed a new side. “This is about women taking agency and using their wardrobes to express themselves in very powerful ways,” Ms Alfred-Saggar said. “I think women you know are a testament to to dealing with all sorts of different things.” She hopes the Jobs for the Girls exhibit will allow people to see how women have historically pushed society’s boundaries. “There are all sorts of societal norms, good and bad, unfortunately, which then tie us to looking a certain way or behaving a certain way and all of that,” she said. “I would like people to come along to this exhibition to be able to question what is a societal norm and whether or not we should always follow those norms, because it’s those people who sort of stepped out of those norms that are actually carried this State forward.” Lisa Collyer, whose poetry is being shown alongside the collection, hopes the collection will help society move away from the assumption that labour workers are only men. “I’m hoping for a more truthful and authentic representation of labour and contribution, and to acknowledge that, and also to change our attitudes and maybe our language surrounding and acknowledging and valuing women’s work.” Ms Collyer said “it means a lot” to have her work alongside the exhibit because of its link to her poetry. “The rationale that I’m writing Gold Digger is to highlight women’s work that is largely unacknowledged, particularly working-class women’s work,” she said. “So the poetry fragments from this collection is further adding to women’s work being seen and spoken about and acknowledged.” Ms Collyer said the collection highlighted the obstacles women have had to overcome to work in various fields. “It’s really important because clothing hasn’t always been made to fit women. They’ve been made for men, particularly in sort of working class roles,” she said. “I’ve read lots of examples where women were made to wear men’s work clothing which didn’t fit correctly, including gloves, which actually was a occupational health and safety hazard.” The exhibit is free and open in the State Library’s theatre foyer until May 18. The Boorloo Heritage Festival runs from Monday until April 30, while other events to celebrate women’s contribution to the State will be held until June.