Kathy Harriott's "wedding dress" installation in the Elliott Gallery is both provocative and beautiful. It is possible to see these screen wire dresses as beautiful and miss the provocation, however, once you get the artist's intended message, all kind of questions are generated.

Each dress in the installation is carefully sewn together, spray painted white and then, in some cases, embellished with decorative items, as befitting a wedding dress. However each dress, and there are eight of them, is translucent, thus it is clear to see that all are empty. Kathy Harriott, former director of the Women's Resource Centre, has good reason to know about the emptiness of many marriages.

Additionally, many questions on even contemporary marriage are brought to mind. Where did the custom of brides wearing white come from, anyway? This was not a question I had even thought to ask, let alone seek an answer, but research, I did and this is what I found out. It has been a tradition in western society less than two centuries. It began with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert in 1840. Apparently the Queen had a lot of white lace and wanted to use it in her dress, thus it was decided to make it white. The usual suggestion of white being a symbol of purity seems not to have been a consideration.

What about the religious traditions of marriage? Even that is questionable from a Biblical perspective, in that a reading of either the Old or New Testament suggests a more secular ceremony, namely a party, but nowhere is there a hint of some kind of blessing, say, in the synagogue. At least, that is my understanding.

Of course, that is not to say that there is no place for religion in marriage, although my guess is that Kathy Harriott may have some doubts about even that.

What about the "honeymoon"? That is indeed, a recent innovation and in the past, something restricted to those of wealth. Actually, it seems to have begun in 19th century Britain. The word suggestions that love will wax and wane in human relationships and once married, will quickly fade; that is, the intensity of the initial friendship will diminish thus the possibility of empty marriages.

But for some, marriage is not an empty situation. At the 2009 Charman Prize exhibition a work by Lynn Morrell suggested the possibility of lasting friendship and love. Well that too is a possibility, hopefully more than what [divorce] statistics seem to indicate.

This is an important exhibition. I recommend seeing it and thinking about what marriage is all about. I know, and most of you will also know, of situations where the cost of the marriage was enough to provide a down payment on a house, yet in at least one instance that I remember the marriage lasted scarcely a week.

The exhibition is called, 'A Work in Progress' because, eventually the artist intends many more "dresses" like maybe 20 in total. It will be interesting how this will expand on the artist's intended meaning.

The exhibition continues through Saturday.