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Thallasa by Swoon

The Transformazium is an old church that has been converted into a living space and art studio. Swoon (AKA Caledonia Dance Curry) has been working on the renovations here along with several other artists. This wheat paste artwork once embellished this side of the old church. She’s called Thalassa.

The sea taking the shape of a woman. That’s a general description of Thalassa, a goddess of Greek mythology. The artist Swoon created this image originally for the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2011. It was designed specifically for that location and a two dimensional version was hung in a huge, two story hall.

From a video of Swoon explaining the piece, she said that she had wanted to take the idea of a Sea Deity to sort of define our relationship with nature and think about how we relate to the sea. The Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Miranda Lash, said in that same video that it was supposed to be a celebratory piece about the sea; ecological systems surrounding it; New Orleans’ relationship with the sea and then went on to say how much the city relied on the sea for food, commerce, oil, etc.

Although not as elaborately displayed and embellished as the installation in the museum, Braddock’s copy of Thalassa was still quite impressive. She may or may not have been a commentary on Braddock’s (and Pittsburgh’s) relationship with our rivers. She was, however, definitely majestic and commanded your attention.

By the time we rode by in May of 2014 Thallasa had deteriorated and was vandalized to the point that we considered it gone.  Building renovations are still going on and we're holding out hope that once they've finished with this side of the structure that perhaps a new copy will be installed.


On 3 Apr 2013, the Carnegie Museum of Art announced that the Transformazium was one of the 35 individuals or groups included in the The 2013 Carnegie International art show. The list of participants was included in the Post–Gazette article, where Mary Thomas provided this information on the Transformazium:

A collective of five people (Ruthie Stringer, Dana Bishop–Root, Erin Harrell, Leslie Stem and Caledonia Curry) with backgrounds in the arts and arts management. Most moved from Brooklyn to Braddock and North Braddock. Individually we are artists, designers, farmers, interactivists, communication theorists, neighbors. Together we are an arts-based community organization. Current projects include deconstructing an abandoned church with the dual purpose of recycling materials and perhaps supplementing income.

Congratulations to the artists of the Transformazium!