Patina du Prey's Memorial Dress

Hunter Reynolds

June 7 - July 1, 1994
45 Greene Street
Photo © 1994 Tom Brazil

Patina du Prey's Memorial Dress was an elegant sculpture and performance piece that directly confronted the losses and emotions felt by those effected by AIDS and HIV. Hunter Reynolds appeared in the guise of alter ego Patina du Prey wearing the Memorial Dress, which was printed with 25,000 names of people who died of AIDS. The dress, a site for mourning and a healing vehicle, is a vessel continuously filled and emptied by the artist's body, which thus becomes a transgendered figure of hope. Viewers were invited to submit names to be added to the dress. This unique project was presented during the 25th Anniversary of Stonewall and produced in collaboration with The Contemporary Art Institute of New York.