Magpies and Mannequins

Iza Thomas
Curated by Deborah Addison Coburn and Miriam Keeler

Wednesday, August 30th through Saturday, September 23rd, 2023

I saw a lot of magpies when I was growing up in Leszno, Poland, more than here in the US. The myth of magpies has always appealed to me, the glinting flash of precious jewelry unearthed for some special occasion: pearls, rubies, gold, silver and the glittering eyes of the thief catching the flash and watching, watching for an opportunity. I did find out later that the stories of magpies stealing jewelry is not true and that they do not make it a habit of stealing shiny objects and I was disappointed because the world needs a little danger from the likes of magpies.

My other obsession are mannequins and dolls and hat boxes, all the overlooked elements of a girl's life, where hopes and joys and sorrows somehow permeate indifferent elements. I try to show this in my paintings, things with living memories that animate them and bring them to life to show our place in this world.

This exhibit is about the juxtaposition of magpies stealing dreams and the mannequins embodying different but similarly hopeful dreams.