First Ever Sex Worker Statue, Joy, Returns To Darlinghurst Home

Seen leaning casually up against a bright red frame with a cigarette loosely in hand, the left strap of her dress slipped down her left shoulder in a relaxed posture, Joy immediately catches your eye.

The first ever sex worker statue on public display, Joy was sculpted by Australian artist Loui Fraser (also known as Loui May) in 1995. The statue stood on the corner of Yurong and Stanley streets in Darlinghurst for 18 months, where it experienced mixed reactions from the public and was subject to vandalism, before it was relocated to a permanent home in the sculpture collection at Macquarie University in 1997.

A bronze replica of the infamous artwork was unveiled on Saturday in its original spot on the city corner, 30 years after the original statue was removed from that exact spot.

“It’s been 30 years since Joy graced this corner and 30 years since NSW became one of the first jurisdictions in the world to decriminalise many forms of sex work, sealing our place as a global leader in sex worker rights,” said Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO.

“The reinstallation of Joy also contributes to the City’s work in rebalancing Sydney’s public art collection by providing more representations of women and other traditionally marginalised groups.”

Fraser said she was inspired by her years as a teenage art student walking through the area to East Sydney Technical College and seeing women standing in their doorways. The work was created as a tribute to sex workers, and their place in the history and community of East Sydney.

Modern values, same woman

Intended as a more modern version of the original artwork, this new replica holds the same relaxed posture against a frame as the original, but is instead made of bronze material rather than cement and marble dust as she has her arms firmly folded over her chest instead of holding a cigarette.

The City of Sydney said that over 80 per cent of locals supported returning a replica of Joy to her original neighbourhood in Darlinghurst following public consultation and community campaigns. 

The new installation of Joy is permanent.

“While my hands may have created this sculpture, it is the women who have lived and worked in this area through history that Joy represents,” said Loui Fraser.

“On their behalf, I give thanks to the hundreds of supporters who believed this sculpture was important, including writers, academics, journalists, artists, podcasters, poets and others.”