There have been many unusual art exhibitions held in Bermuda but none quite like the one that opens at the Elliot Gallery this evening.

The exhibit '1 in 8: Busting Out' will use bras designed by artists, to highlight the occurrence of breast cancer and encourage women to have mammograms.

The bras will be auctioned off during the evening.

The event, organised in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is being sponsored by Gibbons Company.

Kathy Kawaley and her daughter Mikaela Kawaley-Lathan decided to design original bras for the show and silent auction.

Eleven-year-old Mikaela heard about the upcoming exhibit during her summer art camp at the Kaleidoscope Art Foundation. She told her mother and the two decided to take part Mikaela's grandmother, Mrs. Kawaley's mother-in-law, is a breast cancer survivor of 18 years.

"When I am older, I will make sure to get checked," said Mikaela.

Mrs. Kawaley added: "It was 18 years ago and she is very proud of being a survivor. She says the folks at TB Cancer & Health [now Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre] were so amazingly supportive. She said, 'Anything I could do to help them and support what they do, because they so supported me'."

Everyone should have a mammogram, whether a family member has had breast cancer or not, she added.

"There was a young lady last year who she just celebrated her 30th birthday and she was having a double mastectomy," said Mrs. Kawaley.

"It was that severe they couldn't do anything else. It was no point of treating it and that is obviously because it was going on for some time. I am saying this to say, that none of us are in the clear zone.

"At least the exhibition will put a lot more focus on it and remind us of what we need to do."

She continued: "I just find the [statistic] one in eight to be very frightening, I find that number frightening.

"People say, 'Oh well, it is not going to happen to me', but one in eight it is huge."

The pair have created their artwork using bras collected from a number of women.

"We haven't decided what to call it yet, but we were thinking about Bravo or Brava, Bravissimo, or we were thinking of evolution of Bravelution the sequence," said both mother and daughter.

Added Mrs. Kawaley: "Then we've asked for my co-workers to bring in their bras don't burn them bring them and we are hoping to do some sort of cheerleading scene, 'rah, rah, bra'.

"So we are going to make a collage out of them. Those are the ones that we have started and then there is another one and one that is confidential you have to come to the show to see it."

Mikaela added: "We have used sequins, mirrors and anything we can find is just going on there.

"We're not thinking of it as a competition, we just want to have fun with it and it is fun because we do it together."

The exhibit opens this evening from 6 p.m. at the Elliot Gallery and runs until October 31.