Susan T. Avila

The installation A Stitch in Time, debuted at 108 Contemporary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on August 7, 2015 in the exhbition,Matters of Dis-Ease. If you are interested in exhibting this work please contact Email susan at suta.com

The installation consists of 365 red dresses collected from friends and thrift stores. Each garment is attached to a red fabric wrapped wire hanger--all fabrics were salvaged from the garment industry. Hang tags are attached to the garment and include either: a personal story about a woman living with heart disease; a story about a woman who passed away from heart disease; a story about a wonderful woman (a woman with heart) including family, friends, and historical figures; a health proverb; or a fact about heart health. Thank you if you shared your story!

The dresses are displayed on eight garment racks with the opportunity for viewers to look at each dress as if in a boutique. Blank hang tags are available for viewers to add their own story to the installation. There is also one rack of empty hangers, one black hanger to every two red ones to remind everyone that heart disease is the number one killer of women and affects one in three women.

The video, which can be viewed here asks women what a red dress means to them.